Harry Potter and the Dark Order
by Katrina Potter
Summary: My own version of Harry's sixth year, as I haven't finshed the sixth book yet Summary inside because it didn't fit.
1. Chapter 1: The Stranger

**Katrina**: Whoot! Finally I started writing this damn story. Yah, I'm a stinker, I have two other stories that are in dire need to be updated. Sheepish grin Anyways, yeah I don't own any of the HP characters. I only own Kaine, Kuro, Cheshire Cat, Kotori, Razziel, Marcus, and Mikeal (Cheshire, Kotori, Razziel, Marcus, and Mikeal will appear later in the story)

**Summary**: The sixth year has begun and already Harry is facing a war that no one is truly willing to fight. However his new teacher, Ms. Kaine Nighttrod, is not the average witch in the magical community, Harry quickly discovers that behind her happily smile and childish behavior lies a woman with a dark and troubled past. What's stranger is when Harry begins to have dreams about Kaine and her past. What is the history behind Kaine's cross tattoo? What is her relationship with Snape, other than her continuous habit of calling him by female names only? And more importantly, what is her connection to the mysterious 'Dark Order' and Harry's past? And will Harry find time to tell Ginny how he truly feels before Kaine can make a mess of the school itself? Please Read and Review.

Chapter One 

"Stranger"

The storm continued to roar outside like a demoniacal wolf.

The Leaky Cauldron was tightly packed, filled mostly with families who were preparing to send their children to their next or first year of school; their children huddled close to them, especially the young ones.

Harry sat by the Weasley's, like he did the previous year, when he was nearly kicked out of Hogwarts, due to an incident that involved a Dementor and his Patronus.

They were enjoying themselves; Fred and George were talking about potential ideas for gags and products for their store, while Molly and Arthur were telling Ron and Ginny about things they should be prepared for in the coming year.

Harry was merely relaxing as he allowed the sounds of the outside world clear his thoughts.

This, however, did not last as the doors were suddenly kicked open at the same time a lighting bolt struck the ground a good five feet away. This was followed by a few screams from the small children and the few adults who were taken by surprise.

The moment faded away as a figure entered the room, dressed in an old, tan colored traveler's cloak with the hood hiding the stranger's face.

Old Tom, however, didn't seem fazed at all by the enigma's presence as he/she/it placed itself at a table at the far end of the bar. He merely wiped the glass in his hand clean before nearing the cloaked figure.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," he replied with his infamous toothless grin. "The usual aye, Kaine?"

"Dear old Tom," the enigma began to laugh as she removed her hood, only to reveal a young woman in her early twenties, her crimson red hair tumbling out and down to her waist, just dancing at the edge of the seat. It was kept out of her face by a single silver hair clip with unfamiliar symbols on it. "It truly has been much to long."

"Bloody hell, Kaine, you're drunk again?" Tom poured her a cup of herbal tea before leaning towards her as one does a friend. "You are only serious like this when the elephants come dancing for you."

"You know me," Kaine gave a meek smile.

"So where have you been? You disappeared for nearly fifteen years."

"Now that Tom, my dear friend, is a secret that only the dead can keep," she replied as she gently drank the tea with a look of absolute bliss on her angelic face. "Apparently, my friend, your age has not affected your memory. You always seem to remember exactly how much to put in."

"Only for you Kaine," Tom smiled again. Harry found himself curious as to what they were speaking about. "So why are you back? The Ministry hasn't, you know…"

"No," Kaine's voice was suddenly cold and flat, the earlier warmth, gone. "And even if they did, I would not come to their call. They know that I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. No, I'm here do to a job and favor for an old friend."

"You mean..."

"Indeed, dear old Albus requested my presence at his school," Kaine suddenly laughed, causing more eyes to fall on her. "It seems those Ministry fools are not equipped for the job of teaching our youths the proper means of defense or the knowledge of anything of value."

At that moment, the doors opened again, this time with a much softer sound, and a large black dog entered, along with the one person that neither Harry nor Ron wanted to see again.

Dolores Umbridge was a nervous woman, due to last year's trip in the woods, yet she had seemed to have taken on more weight, and was nearing the point of challenging Dudley in size.

The animal, however, was not with her; it shook off the rain-water quickly before placing itself next to Kaine. Umbridge however instantly advanced onto Kaine.

"Ms. Kaine Nighttrod," the woman barked with authority that would have made Snape feeling suppressed. Kaine, however, ignored the woman's presence and scratched the dog behind the ear. "I wasn't finished talking with you yet."

"I am truly sorry, Dolores," Kaine replied in a voice that one used towards a small child.

"But I have neither the time nor patience to deal with the Ministry and it's problems."

"You can't be…"

"I assure you, I am as serious as I was when I worked for the Ministry of Magic, and I do not wish to repeat that process again. I have enough memories of those days to last me eternity."

"But..." Umbridge began, only to have Kaine rise to her full high of five foot five, a good foot and a half higher then Umbridge.

"My answer is no, Dolores, and will remain 'no' until Hell's Gates have frozen over," Kaine growled, the annoyance thick in her tone.

"My word! Kaine?" Arthur's voice broke the tension, as Kaine turned to see who had called her name. "Kaine! It's me, Arthur Weasley. Do you remember?"

Kaine blinked a few times as Arthur neared and embraced her in a hug. She gently returned it, a soft smile on her face.

She then took in Ron, Ginny, Molly, the Twins, and Harry before forcing Arthur to stand before her, as if to look him over.

"By the gods, you have changed since the last time we met Arthur," she embraced him again before turning towards the others. "Are they all yours?"

"Goodness no, only the red haired ones," Arthur smiled and released a hearty laugh. "But my god, Kaine you haven't changed a bit. You still look as young as ever. Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know," Kaine replied kindly. "Here and there. So, how many kids did you and Molly sire?"

'Sire?' Harry thought.

The word seemed odd to be used now-a-days, but the woman did seem highly old fashioned, from her deer skin imitation traveler's boots, down to the cloak that she had yet to remove in the highly warm room.

"Oh not many," Arthur laughed. "Only seven."

"I fear to question what your idea of many is, as of now Arthur," Kaine looked at him oddly. "So what pray tell do I call them, and which ones are still being schooled?"

"Well the twins there are Fred and George, the boy here is Ron, and this little angel is Ginny. And the black haired one here is Harry Potter."

"James' boy?" Kaine's eyes widened with surprise. Arthur nodded before Kaine turned towards Harry. "I was very acquainted with your parents, Harry. I am truly sorry for your loss. They were good people; very accepting of everyone."

"It's okay," Harry began; it was hard for him to miss them, as he had no memories. He looked at her, only to see the expression on her face that told him 'no it isn't but I understand'. It was then he noticed how tired her eyes appeared, how aged they were.

"Come sit with us Kaine," Arthur invited as he made a motion for her to sit. "You may join us as well Ms. Umbridge."

Dolores foamed about the mouth as it became clear to her what Kaine had planned, and that she was ignoring her completely. She quickly shook her head and made to leave.

"Kuro," Kaine called and the dog trotted over to them.

Ginny gasped as she saw the pupil-less red glowing eyes as the dog sat next to Kaine.

Kaine quickly answered to unasked question. "Kuro is a demonic wolf."

They spent the rest of the night talking about random things until they all decided to retire to their rooms.


	2. Chapter 2: A Funny Thing

(**A/N**: I realized a little too late that the title may give people the wrong idea of what the story is about. The Dark Order has nothing to do with Voldemort or his followers. It will be explained later in the story. Thank you)

Chapter Two 

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Train"

Platform 9 ¾'s was very crowded, appearing as if there was a sea of students and the parents that were seeing their children off.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione (who had joined them earlier that morning) had just barely managed to board the train before it left, and were now on the hunt for an empty compartment.

However, just as they found one, they also ran into the one person they had no need nor want to run into.

Draco Malfoy stood in their path, blocking off the entire way down the train, along with his two toadies Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Potter," Draco sneered. He had new robes on and was twirling his wand about, giving a sort of superior image to himself; an image none of the other teenagers seemed to like. "Oh and look, it's the Weasels and Mudblood."

"Move over Malfoy," Ginny muttered and shoved past him, or at least, she tried to. Draco merely shoved her back into Harry's arms. "Hey!"

"Don't get cocky Weaselette," Draco mocked before a hand fell on his shoulder. "What do you..."

"Hey, hey, what are you guys -- four year olds?" a voice called over them.

Draco turned to seem Kaine standing behind him, with Kuro sitting silently next to her.

She placed her hand on Draco's head and ruffled his hair into a matted mess. "Come on now, I don't want to have to hand out timeouts this early in the year."

"STOP THAT!" Draco barked angrily. "Who the hell are you?"

"Professor Kaine Nighttrod, at your service," She grinned broadly.

She seemed completely different than the night before, when she was cool, calm, and highly in control.

However, Harry had very little time to think about this when, suddenly, an arm looped around his shoulders and sent him crashing into a painful group hug involving Kaine, himself, and Draco.

"Now let's make up and be friends! We can make cookies together sometime."

Both Harry and Draco were beyond mortified.

Hell had clearly swallowed them both for some sick joke. Well, as far as they could hear, no one was laughing and Kaine had yet to lease the death-hold on either of their necks.

In fact, it wasn't until Draco began squirming, like a cat when water was heading its way, did she even open her eyes and look at them.

"Do they normally turn blue, or is that just a lack of air?" Kaine asked as Draco fought even harder.

"AIR!"

She quickly let go and rubbed the back of her head looking surprised and nervous. "Oops."

"'Oops'?" Draco gasped and shot daggers at her. "You nearly choke me to death and all you can say is 'Oops'!"

"Oopsaleni?" Kaine offered.

Draco stared in disbelief as her attention quickly turned to Kuro, who snaked behind them and entered a nearby empty compartment. "Awesome job Kuro! Now to get some sleep."

"HELLO!" Draco yelled angrily, as Kaine seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened. Harry was still rubbing his neck from the chokehold, at the time. "You can't just walk away from this!"

"From what?" she asked.

"Kaine!" this time, the rest of Harry's group yelled her name in disbelief.

"Huh?" She backed away, looking highly surprised. "How do you all know my name?"

"Well," Hermione huffed, in a mildly annoyed tone. "You did just introduce yourself to us."

"And we, as in Ron, Harry, and I, met you last night at the Leaky Cauldron," Ginny pointed out as well. "Don't you remember?"

"The Leaky Cauldron?" Kaine went into deep thought.

"Last night? What did I do last night? I remember going to a bar, had five shots of tequila there; going to another bar, three whiskeys on the rocks and 2 Jack Daniels; driving; screams; flashing lights and sirens; a night club full of men; Dolores; another bar, where I had six bouncers; more flashing lights and sirens; steel bars; another bar; Dolores again..."

They stared at her in complete amazement and horror. "I don't recall the Leaky Cauldron."

"You were there last night!" Ron cried.

"I was also pretty drunk at the time, most likely," Kaine answered as she muttered under her breath more events that she could barely recall from the previous night. "I think."

They all groaned in disapproval.

"Sooooo," Kaine replied wanted to break the newfound silence. "Tell me about yourselves, and what kind of mess I've gotten myself into, by taking up the," she deepened her voice a bit and held up an expression that said I-know-everything-so-bow-down-before-me. "Defense Against the Dark Arts position."

"I give her a week," Ron stated flatly and a long silence filled the compartment.


	3. Chapter 3: It's the Same Thing, Right?

(A.N: Man, I feel like a bum. I have two other stories to update and I have writer's block on both. Luckily, I have most of this story planned out. Thank God I don't say the name of the next chapter, the last one changed only fifteen times. Also, it may take a little bit to update as my family is going through a big move. Also, I have now finished the sixth book, and for those who have read it, I want to state again, this is my version on the sixth year so Snape is still the annoying nut. I still love him in all his greasy-hair glory... that sounded like a Volvo with a gun rack, anyway on to the story)

Chapter Three 

"It's the Same Thing, Right?"

The train ride turned out to be the most interesting one that Harry had had in years.

He wasn't sure if it was because Ron and Ginny got into descriptive detail about the past D.A.D.A teachers and Kaine's continuous remark of 'How did he talk me into this job again?', or if it was merely the chocolate frog hunt they all had as Kaine bought and opened about ten different frogs and refused to 'rest until she had captured every single one'.

That lasted a good hour until she managed to hit her head hard on the bottom of Hermione's seat and she let out a cry of dismay as the frog jumped for liberty and freedom out the window. The rest managed to pull the exact same stunt until the very last one that Kaine catapulted out the window in pure rage over the other fourteen lost.

It was absolutely the most childish thing Harry had ever seen a person do, and for an adult to do it, no less.

But of course the fun didn't last long, as they neared Hogsmeade; although, they all roared with laughter, except Hermione, when they tried to wake Kaine up from a heavy nap, and she started muttering about how she was too old for school and wanted another hour.

"Ms. Kaine Nighttrod!" Barked a voice that sent Kaine jumping a meter in the air, slamming her head into the overhead baggage shelf, and finally standing straight up stiffly.

"I didn't do it! Lucy did it!" she cried only to have the students roar with laughter. She then looked to see the old treat-cart witch scowling at her.

"Shoes, Ms. Nighttrod," she shook her finger at the young woman, who was getting cross eyed as it pointed her nose. "Please don't put your shoes on the cushions."

"Oh, um..." Kaine blushed with embarrassment and laughed nervously. "Sorry." She watched the woman leave before pouting at Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. "Wasn't that funny. Now get going and change into your uniforms so you're ready for when we get to Hogsbeer."

"Hogsmeade," Hermione replied.

Kaine seemed to have a problem with names of places.

"That's what I said," Kaine smiled and walked down the other way. "Hogsale."

(AN: For those who may not know this, mead is a honey based alcohol that one can really, really get drunk on, so Kaine is calling it Hog's beer and Hog's Ale)

"Wonder where she's going?" Ron asked as they headed towards the changing rooms.

"She's a teacher, Ron," Hermione stated, only to gain a blank stare from Ron and Harry. "Honestly you two. Everyone knows Voldemort is back, Ron stop flinching at that bloody name!"

"I can't help it."

"Anyway, they're bound to tighten security around Hogwarts so she is probably supposed to guard the students with other teachers until we get to the school grounds."

"Oh," Ron said. He suddenly looked confused. "But, Hermione."

"What Ron?" Hermione sighed as they continued walking.

"Don't you think she might get lost?" Ron asked. At this point they would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that their new professor seemed more then talented and qualified to do so. "I mean she seems a bit of an… you know."

"Airhead?" Ginny offered kindly, in which they all agreed.

By the time they had tackled, entered, and fought through a herd of other students, the train had finally stopped at Hogsmeade station.

This meant, of course, they would have the traditional let's-cram-though-the-crowd-and-out-the-door quest that never failed to be fun.

The crowd was so bad that Harry actually weighed out the idea of entering a cabin and jumping out the window as a possible quicker way out. However, with some shoving and patience and getting his foot stepped on twenty times, they emerged outside only to find every teacher, minus the headmaster and Firenze.

This meant, of course, that Snape was already next to the train, busying himself with terrorizing the new first years as he towered menacingly over them, scowling.

Wanting more then anything to avoid Snape as long as humanly possible, Harry turned to other way when a leg out a window caught his eye.

Kaine had never been the patient type, so after seeing the sea of heads she wasn't very happy. To make matters worse, despite her five foot five height, the eleven year old midgets, as she called them, seemed to be trampling her instead.

Sighing in frustration, she turned and noticed an open, nearby cabin window.

She could sort of recall, James and Sirius daring her to climb out one during their second year, and she recalled only getting a detention for it as well.

Entering she check to see if she possibly could still fit through.

"Would be a tight squeeze, but..." she muttered before shaking her head. " No, I'm mature now. Poised, cool, clever, and much too old to be climbing out a window..."

She frowned deeply. "Yeah, way too old..." She glanced at the crowd of students. "Then again, it is faster... Nah, why not."

This was when she decided to back out backwards of the window, having forgotten one important fact.

The last time she climbed out, Remus and Sirius were waiting to grab her feet because even if she was five foot five, the train window stood five foot nine from the platform up.

So needless to say, Kaine's memory of landing on her feet was turned into landing on her ass.

"Owwwiiiee," Kaine moaned. "That wasn't quiet what I..."

She suddenly felt that she was laying on something live and breathing. "Ooookay, it's squishy, has hair-eew it's oily! Wait a minute!"

She jumped off the living cushion only to find Severus Snape rising to give her a glare that could kill a blind man. "Oh... my... goodness!"

"What the bloody?" Snape barked only to have his eyes widen in horror. "OH NO! NOT YOU!"

"SUSAN!" Kaine cried at the top of her lungs drawing attention from everyone. She flung her arms around his neck and literally yanked him up into a forced stand so that he wouldn't choke. "Susan, oh god, it's good to see you."

"IT'S SEVERUS!" Snape barked enraged as he yanked out of Kaine's hold.

Kaine however was completely un-phased.

"It's the same thing right?"

"No it bloody well isn't!" Snape roared turning red in the face. "It's Severus!"

"Sally," Kaine replied cheerfully.

"Severus," Snape replied, trying to regain his normal posture.

"Anna," Kaine suddenly replied, still smiling.

"Severus," Snape growled.

"Molly?" Kaine suggested, still smiling

"Severus!" Snape was now yelling as a set of student began to snicker.

"Bambi," Kaine cheered now.

"Severus!" Snape, now enraged, rose higher over Kaine, not that it was hard, she looked like a seventh year student next to him, being a head shorter.

"Jamie."

"Severus!" Snape cried as students and teacher began laughing under their hands with amused looks on their faces.

"Zoey!" Kaine threw her hands in the air as she cheered the name happily.

"I give up," Snape muttered only to have Kaine's hand latch onto his arm.

"Of course you do, Susan!" She replied happily as if there never was an argument to begin with. "Now lets head off to Hogpimples!"

"Hogwarts," Snape growled as Kaine merely began to skip toward the castle, leaving the carriages for the others.

"It's the same thing, right?" she replied and then began humming as she skipped, and the more-then-foaming Snape following behind her.

Once they were out of sight, Harry and the Gryffindors roared with laughter. Even if it meant that Snape would be sour for their first potion lesson, it was more then worth it.

"I think," replied Harry, while gasping for air as he, Neville Longbottom, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna Lovegood got in a carriage. "This will be an interesting year."

"One things is for sure," Luna replied. "I like her, she's so much more..."

"Lively" Ron offered.

"Normal," Luna answered, which earned her a set of stares.


	4. Chapter 4: The First Class

(A/N: Battle for the glory of the Horde! Sorry, my sister and dad are addicted to WoW or World of Warcraft. I just seem to fall in and out of it. YESSSSS! It's finished! Now I only have to start on the next chapter. Oh well, so Kaine has entered the school and has a wonderful job on names (mainly Snape). Now lets see what will happen…)

Chapter Four 

"The First Class"

The Great Hall was buzzing with noise as students filed in and got themselves seated at their rightful tables.

Harry sat next to Hermione and Ron, while Ginny and Neville sat across from the trio. Luna seated herself behind Harry so that they would be able to talk without getting into any form of trouble.

Snape was one of the first to be seated at the front table, his eyes narrowed into slits as his rage more or less flooded the room, looking for any reason to remove points from any of the houses before the year even started.

Soon the first years entered the room, looking scared, nervous, and a few appeared very cocky.

"Slytherins," Ron whispered to Harry as they watched two twins that seemed very full of themselves.

"Where's that woman?" Luna asked as she leaned back. The sorting had begun and the new students were being placed into their new houses. "The one from the train."

"Yeah, where is Professor Nighttrod?" Ginny asked as she too began to scan the room. "I don't see her."

"Maybe Snape killed her," Ron suggested. "She did piss him off."

"Ron," Hermione scolded. "Professor Snape wouldn't hurt anyone on the staff in any way... I think."

"She's dead," Ron deadpanned as the last of the new students were placed in their houses.

"Oh, Dumbledore is going to give his speech."

Harry tuned him out a little. The speech was always the same, welcoming new and old students back to Hogwarts, Filch's list of banned items, Forbidden Forest is "forbidden," blah, blah, blah.

It wasn't until he began talking about the new addition to the staff that Harry paid attention.

"Now, I would have liked to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but it seems that Professor Nighttrod has yet to grace us with..." Dumbledore started when the doors flung open as Kaine came running in, panting heavily. "Ah, it appears that she has arrived. May I introduce Professor Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod."

"(gasp) You know (gasp) Albus," Kaine rested her hands on her knees, while looking half annoyed at the Headmaster. "You need (wheeze) to put up a bloody (gasp) map of this place."

"My apologies, Kaine," Albus grinned. "I only assumed that you could remember your way around your old school. Although please refrain from using such language when around students."

Kaine muttered something under her breath that sounded much along the lines of 'I'm going to kill the old jerk, even if it kills me' before standing straight again.

She still wore the exact same outfit as she had on the train, and within seconds, she had regained her composure, once again, of a young happy woman who still demanded respect.

"Salutations everyone, I am Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod, the new Defense..." She began to step forward, failing to realize the heavy doors of the Great Hall had closed silently behind her, her cloak trapped in its hold.

In an instant, every student and staff member watched Kaine clothesline herself with the tan cloak and fall crashing down to the ground.

"...Against the Dark Arts teacher," the last part was muttered, as she remained lying on the ground. She muttered under her breath something that sounded like 'why did I get up this morning'.

"Why am I feeling uneasy about our education in DADA?" Neville asked calmly as Kaine began to raise and pull the material out of the doors.

It gave quickly and sent her falling backwards again and banging her legs into the Slytherin table.

The next day signaled the beginning of the school year. The halls were filled with first years looking for their classrooms.

Harry was walking along with Ron and Hermione as they headed toward their first class of double DADA, which was dubbed as an important class because the world was now forced to face the facts. Voldemort had returned.

He grinned as Hermione shuffled her books about, she had once again taken more classes on then a normal living person should have. He couldn't help but get butterflies in his stomach as they passed Ginny, who smiled sweetly at him, while Dean continued to talk about Quidditch.

As they neared the classroom, Harry felt a twitch of annoyance. Insults were flying back and forth between the Slytherins, who were waiting inside, and the Gryffindors.

Harry took a seat with Ron and Hermione, hoping that Professor Nighttrod would appear very soon.

_Meanwhile..._

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" Kaine cried as she ran down the halls as fast as she could. If Filch didn't know better he would have thought she was a student.

"FIFTEEN MINUTES! FIFTEEN MINUTES LATE FOR MY OWN BLOODY CLASS!" her sneakers shrieked as she turned the corner hard and quickly flung the door open.

"I'm sorry I'm late! There was a fish drowning and I had to save it with CPR! I am," She grabbed a piece of chalk and quickly wrote her name on the blackboard. "Professor Kaine Nighttrod, the new DADA teacher here at Hogwarts. Now before we begin our lesson, who can tell me why we study Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

She looked at the class and picked the first hand she saw. "Yes?"

"Um, Professor?" A small nervous boy started as he messed his black hair a little.

"Call me Kaine," She smiled.

"This isn't the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom."

"Exact--excuse me?" Kaine blinked as she looked at the boy. "It's not! Then where the heck am I?"

"Ahem," A voice called.

"Huh?"

"This is the Charms classroom," the smallest teacher at Hogwarts, the dear old Professor Flitwick, replied with an annoyed look on his face. Kaine's face faltered. "Your classroom, Professor Nighttrod is on the other side of Hogwarts."

"You have got to be kidding," she gasped.

_Meanwhile in the DADA classroom..._

"Where the hell is that teacher?" Draco groaned.

Goyle looked stupidly about the room.

It was fashioned differently for the previous years. True the dragon skeleton still hung above them, but more skeletons were placed about the room, like four skeletons that were wolf like in appearance.

They were placed in sets; two that were gangling and weak structured and the other were massive and powerful looking. The only difference between the two in each set was that the hips were slightly wider on one of them. The gangling elongated skeletons were labeled Lycan Hybrid (M) and (F), while the massive powerful ones were labeled Lycan (M) and (F).

He moved to touch one when a scream erupted from the hallways.

For a moment, everyone thought it was Kaine screaming, being that the school's poltergeist, Peeves, enjoyed attacking late students, and let's face it, Kaine wasn't much taller then the students and could easily pass as one, even with her looks.

However a moment later Peeves came zooming by.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screamed, stopped, and pointed as he crashed into Crabbe in the doorway. "The cause of my nightmares! It came BACK!"

He quickly returned to his running away just as Kaine came around the corner.

"Wait! Squeakers!" She called as loud as she could, being fairly winded. "Hang on, it's okay! I had help with that stuff now!"

She finally sigh in disappointment when Peeves refused to answer her back. "Geez, he still hasn't gotten over it. Oh well. Hello class, sorry I'm late, please take your seats."

"Why are you late?" Pansy Parkinson ordered as she placed herself next to Draco.

Draco looked more disappointed at their new teacher. She seemed more like a student that had just graduated, barely.

"I was heading out early when these ninjas came out of nowhere. They demanded I tell them the secrets of Hogwarts, but I refused and had to lure them away from the school and battle them along with the fairies in the forest and..."

"Professor?" Seamus held his hand up slightly. "Did you get lost?"

"Yes, now let us never speak of it again," Kaine replied and turned to write on the board.

"Well, let's begin class, my name in Professor Kaine Nighttrod, call me Kaine, and never use my middle name. Now, I have a small test for you all, no it will not affect your grade in this class, you get an instant 'O' for doing is as it's a placement test. I need to know what you all know," she gave her wand a flick and in an instant papers zoomed around the room and landed in front of the students.

"Mind you I want everyone to answer honestly, truthfully, and by themselves. I don't want any..." she suddenly snapped the chalk into a small 1/8 piece and threw it at Goyle, hitting him right between the eyes hard.

He gave a yelp as a white mark was left on his forehead and the piece shot back and was caught by a huffing Kaine. "Talking. I'll warn you all now, I was the captain of the baseball team back home."

"What were you?" Seamus asked, knowing a little about the sport. Hermione groaned at the stupidity of the question.

"Pitcher."

After that, everyone knew in Hogwarts that if you talked, or fell asleep, within Defense Against the Dark Arts room, Kaine would throw chalk at you and the little mark afterwards would tell everything.

They also learned never to underestimate Kaine's ability to aim, and to make matters worse, the chalk was bewitched so that no matter how hard one tried, the mark wouldn't disappear until either Kaine said so, or about two weeks later.

Needless to say, Kaine wasn't a person to pass up a good laugh.

**AND NOW A BONUS!** A preview of the next chapter. I'm going to try and update sooner, possibly two chapters. Anyway...

"Hey Susan?" Kaine asked as she leaned over the brewing potion, while Snape's back was turned. It had a lilac color to it and smelled softly of vanilla. "What's this?"

"Poison," Snape growled. He looked over his shoulder to see that Kaine had backed away from it. "It's Happiness Potion, you idiot."

"Oooooooooh," Kaine nodded as she looked closely. "Wasn't this what we made in the sixth year?"

"Yes," Snape replied. "As I recall you were the only person there capable of blowing it up."

"Did I do something like this?" Kaine quickly grinned and tossed a rather large open vial of harpy's blood straight into the potion.

"NO!"


	5. Chapter 5: Potion Problems

Chapter Five

Potion Problems

A good month had passed on since the beginning of the year, but it didn't feel like it to anyone. Despite her youthful appearance and lack of changing outfits (she is still wearing the old tanned cloak) Kaine easily proved to all of them that she was more then qualified to teach the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts. After the first few classes of getting to know the students and what they knew, she quickly went into the subjects on curses and creatures linked to it. It had surprised quite a few of the students when they reached to subject on werewolves that Kaine knew who Remus was on personal levels and not professional. Harry recalled moment earlier that very morning as he, Ron, and Hermione were heading towards their potions lesson.

"Now today we will be using these two set of skeletons for our lesson," Kaine twirled her hand and the four skeletons mored over to her. "Now, who can tell me what these two are? Yes, Mr. Goyle?"

"Ummmmm," Goyle sounded out, sounding fairly stupid and lost. He quickly looked at their labels and read them out. "Lycan Hybrids and Lycan,"

"Well, yes," Kaine looked disappointed at the boy but still put on a soft smile for him. "But what does that mean?"

"Ummmmm," He looked completely lost. "I don't know,"

"Alright, thank you anyways," She smiled kindly to him. "Can anyone tell me what a Lycan is? Perhaps a Lycan Hybrid?"

"Hermione?" Ron turned to see even Hermione looking stumped on this one. "Do you know?"

"I'm hear it before, but where," Hermione was in her own world when Kaine called out.

"Mr. Longbottom," She smiled kindly at him. It was one of her special traits, to never seem intimidatingly towards any of the students. She was quite simply the most popular teacher in the school, never dressing to code, very lively, and was more then willing to annoy Snape to no ends. "Care to take a guess?"

"They're two breeds of werewolves," Neville stated quietly as Kaine mere smiled. She gestured her arms for him to continue. "One is a bitten type,"

"Very good, five points to Gryffindor and Slytherin," She replied. She quickly turned towards the two sets. "Who can tell me which ones are the infected types and how one can tell? Mr. Weasley?"

"The really weak looking ones," Ron stated proudly. "We had a teacher here once that was a werewolf,"

"Really?" Kaine looking a bit surprised. "Who?"

"Professor Remus Lupin," Draco muttered under his breath. It was so low that most didn't catch it, but Kaine did.

"Moony?" She asked start out. "I'll be... I haven't seen him since we all graduated from here. Him, James, Sirus, Peter, and Lily. That brings back memories,"

She seemed suddenly lost in her thoughts, her smile saddening slightly but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"But anyways, yes. Lycan is the scientific name for werewolves. It is said that there once were two brothers, twins, where one was bitten by a bat, and the other by a wolf. As a result two creatures of darkness were born, the Lycan breed and the Nosferatu. We'll get to them later. Now there are two types of Lycan, the Hybrid which are people who are bitten, and then there are the pure breed lycans. The difference is that a Hybrid can not control their transformation even with the Wolfbang Potion. The potion merely allows them to keep their civil mind. A true Lycan however can transform at will, regardless of time of day. They are very much aware of what they do at all times..."

"How do you know this?" Pansy asked as she scanned her book. "It doesn't say anything like that in the book,"

"She'd know because she's worked at the ministry," Ron stated. Everyone turned and looked at him. "Fred and George told me about her when I last wrote to them. They told me they had a run in with her at the ministry when they were little,"

"Ah yes, those two were quiet the little angels back then," Kaine smiled softly. "They use to be pretty shy those two,"

That was also the only time that Kaine ever spoke about her time at the ministry, not that it mattered. She shared her experience with them all freely, and the homework wasn't all too difficult to do, although she still gave her share of homework like the others did. It was Hermione who called back his attention when they reached the Potions classroom.

"What do you think Kaine did in the ministry, Harry?" Hermione asked him as they all took their seats. "I mean, she seemed very secretive about it,"

"I don't know," Harry replied as he pulled out his potion materials. Suddenly something occurred to him. "Wait an minute! She knows Remus,"

"Yeah, Harry she told us that," Ron stated.

"No, I mean she knows him, knows him," Harry stated. All he got from Ron and Hermione were blank stares. "She called him Moony, not Remus,"

"Your right," Hermione gasped. She quickly leaned towards the two of them so that no one would be able to hear them. "Hey, maybe we can ask her about them instead. Maybe they were friends or something,"

"Quiet!" Snape's voice barked as he stomped into the classroom filled with Slytherins and Gryffindors. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods, but when you have a fellow teacher calling you after every female name in the book no one could blame him. "Open your books to page 509. Today we will be making the Happiness potion. As much as I would rather cut off my own hands then teach this potion, the ministry believes it to have some _great_ importance in your adult lives,"

And with that, the class set to work in silence. Neville seemed highly nervous at making the potion as it once again turned from blue to a grayish sickly color. Harry was having his own problems with his. For unknown reasons, the potion wasn't turning into a soft blue color like Snape said i would but rather an strong bright blue. Hermione was the only one who wasn't having too much trouble but the potion was more dole blue then soft. Snape was about to comment on Ron's potion that for unknown, but understandable reason was an acidly green, the doors to the classroom flung ope and Kaine walked in and sat on Snape's desk, without any other word except for 'Hello'.

"Ms. Nighttrod?" Snape growled calmly. She seemed more interested in the potion then what he had to say. Funny enough she looked much younger sitting on his desk then normal. "Kaine!"

"What?" She looked up and grinned. "Something wrong Sussy?"

Snape groaned. He had long given up on the battle with names. So far only only Albus and McGonagall had won that battle, but then again Kaine had respect towards Albus and McGonagall was just plain frightening when angered.

"What are you doing here?"

"Watching you," Kaine grinned childishly.

"I can see that," Snape growled as she stepped closer. "What about the class you are suppose to be teacher as of the moment?"

"You know, I didn't feel like teaching the seventh years today, so I told them they could use it as a study hall,"

"And?" Snape growled as his fists tightened in a threatening manner.

"They made it the unofficial 'Let's bash Snape Because He Can't Do Anything About It' day," Kaine smiled happily. "And I decided to see see what were doing instead of joining them,"

"Woman..." Snape barked but suddenly stopped and looked at the students that were watching them closely. "Get to work!"

He then chose to ignore Kaine as much as he could and turned toward the cupboard to find the last few ingredients.

"Hey Susan?" Kaine asked as she leaned over the brewing potion while Snape's back was turned. It had a lilac color to it and smelled softly of vanilla. "What's this?"

"Poison," Snape growled. He looked over his shoulder to see that Kaine had backed away from it. "It's Happiness potion, you idiot,"

"Oooooooooh," Kaine nodded as she looked closely. "Wasn't this what we made in the sixth year?"

"Yes," Snape replied. "As I recall you were the only person there capable of blowing it up,"

"Did I do something like this?" Kaine quickly grinned and tossed a rather large open vial of harpy's blood straight into the potion.

"NO!"

All the students watched the potion turn an bright neon pink color as it began to boil quickly. Snape glared at Kaine who placed a hand over her mouth and mutter something along the lines of 'too much?' when the cauldron exploded. Harry felt the potion hit his left shoulder and hisses at the pain of it being hot, but otherwise there was nothing else.

The bang could be heard all the way to the forbidden forest, in which several flocks of bird flew into the air out of fright. When McGonagall came running down the stairs, all she saw were several laughing students exiting the Potions room with patches of pink that was changing color every few seconds and a large cloud o cotton candy colored smoke. Once all the students were out, Snape exited, half normal and the other half turning several different colors of pink, looking like he was more then willing to kill someone. This 'someone' came stumbling out of the smoke laughing hard and loud, barely able to stand straight for more then a few minute. Kaine was completely pink, in fact there were areas on her that were different shades of pink continuously changing.

"I hope you are happy Kaine," Snape muttered as he graded her arm and straightened her out.

"Of course I am, Susan!" She cheered and flew her arms up in the arm. "Let's do it again!"

"Professor Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod!" McGonagall's voice rang threw the hall. In an instant Kaine sobered up and stood a straight up with a mortified look on her face. "What are you doing in the dungeons?"

"Um, well, you see," Kaine started to fidget as McGonagall stood over her, again the look of a student being scolded by a teacher seemed the best way to descried the moment. Without warning, McGonagall suddenly grabbed Kaine by the ear and gave it a good pull, which caused the younger professor to yelp out in surprise and pain. "Awe!"

"Ms. Nighttrod, act your age, please!" McGonagall ordered as Kaine rubbed her abused ear and looked a lot like a puppy that had just been kicked. "Now why are you not teaching your class as of the moment?"

"It's boring!" Kaine whined sounding like a six year and took up the posture.

"May I remember you of your age!" McGonagall replied in disbelief. Kaine instantly looked hard at her.

"You wouldn't dare say it out loud," Kaine growled for only a moment, but then she returned to her lucky go happy attitude. "Don't worry, it washes out with three washes and I'll help Susan clean up the mess,"

"You'd better," Snape growled before turning on the class. "Class dismissed,"

Needless to say there was plenty of talking around the school as the spots of pink were more then noticeable. Draco seemed to be enjoying it th most on the Slytherin side as it had managed to make a heart shape on cheek which he found quiet funny and more then a few girls found interesting. Ginny roared with laughter to the point where her eyes were watering and she was wheezing for breath. It took them fifteen minutes for her to ask them if she could barrow one of their books for her next class. It was then Hermione realized she had forgotten her book bag in the classroom due to all the chaos.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Ron said as she went into a full out panic. Harry in the mean time handed over his copy which Ginny thanked them kindly for. "We'll just go and get it,"

"Right," Harry answered and the three quickly walked down the stair toward the potions room. They were just about to enter when they heard something. "Hang on,"

"Kaine what are you drinking?" Snape voice asked. He sounded slightly worried.

"The usual," Kaine replied. They opened the door a bit more to see, Kaine holding a small silver flask as she and Snape twirled their wands and set the magic to wash the pink mess away. "You should have know that,"

"Your tolerance for alcohol is as high as Longbottom's grade in potions," Snape mutter and before she could take another swing, Snape removed the flash from her hands. "I wish you wouldn't,"

"You know I need it," Kaine smiled sadly at him. Again Harry noticed the light in her eyes was gone, just as they were at the Leaky Cauldron. She seemed old, tired, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. She sat behind Snape's desk and rested her head. "I don't have their strength,"

"Their?"

"James, Lily," She sighed. "God it kills me to see Harry. It's my fault in a way,"

"What are you muttering about?" Snape walked over and lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Talk to me Kaine, you once did,"

"I can't," She rouse as quickly as his hand had touched her. Before he could react again Kaine had reclaimed the flask and took a long hard drink. "There's too much to fill in, too little time. I just don't have that strength,"

Snape suddenly sat down and pulled Kaine into his lap. They appeared to have removed all of the pink substance off themselves, appearing normal again, and as Kaine was pulled into Snape's embrace Harry realized that her eyes were looking dead to the world.

"Don't do this," Snape replied, holding her close. Kaine looked sadly at him and forced on a smile. "Don't lock everything inside of you like you did before. It's not your fault," He gently pulled her into a kiss.

At this moment, Ron released a sound of horror and utter disgust which Hermione muffled. Harry however watched stunned as both of his professors released sound of pleasure when Kaine pulled away.

"No," She whisper. Her hair hid her eyes, but her voice sounded strained, like she was ready to cry. "I can't Severus. People die around me. After Emily..."

"She wasn't your fault," Snape told her firmly. "And she wouldn't want you blaming yourself for she death either. Kaine..."

"No Severus," Kaine looked suddenly very sad, unable to face Snape anymore. "It was. If I had watched her more closely. If I had told James or Lily. If I had been there," Suddenly Kaine looked up, her eyes filled with self-disgust and guilt. "Damn it Severus, I could have done something! Anything! People **die** around me Severus. I can't lose... I just don't have this strength. I don't even know who I am anymore. Marcus does and he won't tell me,"

"Kaine," Snape reached for her, but she had already walked towards the fireplace and threw in some Floo Powder. "You can't keep running,"

"It's the only thing I can, Severus," Kaine whispered and she looked at him and smiled sadly. "It's the only thing I know how to do,"

"You were earning your cross, Kaine," Snape replied sadly, now that Kaine wasn't facing him anymore. "You're not to blame for the things that happen. Stop holding onto the past,"

"It's the only thing I know how to do," Kaine only answered as she stepped into the fire and called out. "Kaine!"

Silence filled the room before Snape suddenly grabbed a nearby empty flask and chucked it as hard as he could against the wall.

"DAMN IT!" He fell back into his chair looking miserable. "Why can't you just let go, Kaine. It wasn't your fault... it never was..."

"Accio bag," Hermione whispered once the shock wore off. "I think we should leave,"

"Yeah," Ron replied holding his stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick,"

AN: Okay this is where the story get a little serious every once and in a while. So, who is Emily, and what is it with Kaine and her happy act? More importantly, who is Marco? Until the next Chapter which will be called...

The Black Letter...


	6. Chapter 6: The Black Letter

A/N: Woooooow, this is soo great, this story has over 500 hits. I'm so happy. Sure it doesn't have the highest reviews, but I have yet to get a bad one and as long as people enjoy it, that is all an author needs. However, do to the long period of non-updating I suddenly realized I couldn't remember what Kaine looked like. Wow, I'm amazing. I will be going back to fix up my spelling errors. I know I'm a bloody hypocrite. I bitch to my friends about how it pisses me off when people don't look up the spelling on characters' names and what do I do... Yah, anyways, where were we...

Ah yes, it seems that Kaine knows more about James and his friends then what she lets on, and Severus seems more then a little interested in Kaine. Hmmm, what could it all mean? And why is it that Kaine pushes Severus away and seems so guilt ridden? More importantly, what are her relations with the Ministry of Magic?

Chapter Six

The Black Letter

Ron seems still mortified over the scene they had seen, his face slightly pale and his eyes very dilated and starring into nothingness. Hermione in the mean time was trying to calm her nerves over Snape's violent reaction. The sound of the vial smashing seemed to echo in her ears loudly and the seat of two of her professors sitting in an intimate position was more or less burned into her mind. Harry however wasn't so hung up over the fact that his teachers had a thing for each other, although the though of Snape kissing the much young looking and attractive Professor Kaine was as appealing as getting kissed by either Malfoy or worse Dudley.

No, to Harry what was frozen in his mind was not only the kiss that was shared between his favorite and lest favorite teacher, but Kaine's reactions. It was hard to tell, but she seemed frightened by the affection from Snape, and when she was telling him 'no' she seemed on the brink with tears. For the first time since he had met her, Kaine had looked completely like a child, lost, alone, and frighten. She didn't look twenty years old, and yet... he couldn't put his finger on it. Another thing that bothered him was what she had said.

"_No," She whispered. Her hair hid her eyes, but her voice sounded strained, like she was ready to cry. "I can't Severus. People die around me. After Emily..."_

"_She wasn't your fault," Snape told her firmly. "And she wouldn't want you blaming yourself for she death either. Kaine..."_

"_No Severus," Kaine looked suddenly very sad, unable to face Snape anymore. "It was. If I had watched her more closely. If I had told James or Lily. If I had been there," Suddenly Kaine looked up, her eyes filled with self-disgust and guilt. "Damn it Severus, I could have done something! Anything! People **die** around me Severus. I can't lose... I just don't have this strength. I don't even know who I am anymore. Marcus does and he won't tell me,"_

"_Kaine," Snape reached for her, but she had already walked towards the fireplace and threw in some Floo Powder. "You can't keep running,"_

"_It's the only thing I can, Severus," Kaine whispered and she looked at him and smiled sadly. "It's the only thing I know how to do,"_

"_You were earning your cross, Kaine," Snape replied sadly, now that Kaine wasn't facing him anymore. "You're not to blame for the things that happen. Stop holding onto the past,"_

"_It's the only thing I know how to do," _

Yes, what had she meant by that it was her fault in a way? Harry knew that his parents were betrayed; there was no doubt about it, although few knew it was Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed his father and not Sirius Black. The though set a small sting into Harry's heart. It had hardly been a year since Sirius had died, not that many cared, but he was one of the few that cared for Harry.

"Harry!" A voice yelled. Harry jumped as he was called back to reality. In front of him was Ginny looking slightly worried at him. It was only then it occurred to Harry that he was standing outside of the Great Hall and everyone was enjoying their lunch inside. "Are you alright? I've been saying your name at lest five times,"

"Huh?" Harry blinked a few time before looking at her. "Oh I'm..."

"You're not sick are you?" Without warning, Ginny's hand shoot out and rested against his forehead. A deep blush rushed across Harry's face as he realized how close Ginny was to him. "You feel a little hot,"

The fact was, Ginny had changed a lot since they first met, even Harry had. She wasn't the over freckled knobby kneed little girl she was five years ago, that he rescued from Tom Riddle. No, she was a young woman now, with soft curves and youthful breast. Her lips were a little more full and soft looking, and her sun kissed tan had burned some of the freckles away from her youth. More importantly, Ginny wasn't the little girl who he played big brother too anymore; fifth year had shown him that. No, she was brave and brilliant, knew who her friends were and stood by them no matter what horrors they faced and will face. Yes, Ginny was anything but a little girl.

"I..." Harry started when a rather strange girl entered to room. "What in the world?"

She wasn't very old looking, possibly thirteen years of age, very skinny looking and long legs. She wore a small pink lose slide cut skirt, a black tank top, green acid colored fishnet shirt and stocking that ran mid thigh, and a set of heavy black, steel tipped combat boots. Her hair was deep purple and held back in a high frizzy pony tail, her nails painted black and her hands in black studded biker glover. She looked irritated, like she had been looking for someone or something and couldn't find it. Suddenly her eyes fell on Harry, and the moment she walked over to him Harry had a feeling that hell's own personal imp had entered the room.

"'Ey you," She barked as she pushed Ginny aside and looked straight into Harry's face. Her lips were covered with black lip liner and purple lipstick, a real deep purple, and her eyes were the same. "Yeah you, whacha name, kid?"

"Harry," Harry tried to back away a bit, her golden eyes frightening him slightly.

"'Arry aye," She replied and began chewing loudly and a wad of gum in her mouth. "You know a Kaine Night-something?"

"You mean Professor Nightrod?" He asked. Her accent was heavy.

"You know, tall woman with a stupid look to her face," The girl growled and suddenly let lose a set of rough snarls, growls, and hisses. "You bloody moron, where the 'ell 'ave you been?"

"Whaa?" Kaine's voice came behind Harry as he turned and saw a very lost looking Kaine looking at the two. "Cheshire Cat?"

"Who the 'ell you think I'd be?" Cheshire barked. "The bloody pope?"

"My god you've grown," Kaine suddenly looked the girl over before frowning. "But... you're not here for me health or for a visit, are you?"

The girl, Cheshire, looked half annoyed at the woman. It was almost as if she assumed that Kaine was acting different from what she normally was. In and instant and without warning, Cheshire stood on her tippy-toes. It wasn't much, just enough for her to be a little short of mouth level. Then she closed her eyes and sniffed Kaine's breath. Kaine however looked fairly bewildered at the action.

"Are you dunk or something?" Cheshire muttered. "Ya' ain't this tipsy at the meetings an all,"

"Professor?" Ginny asked softly. Her voice called forth both Kaine's and Cheshire's attention, whether it was good or bad. Kaine's face seemed to pale slightly while Cheshire looked like she was arguing with herself whether to attack them or ignore them. "Who is this?"

"An old friend of mine," Kaine smiled calmly, but it seemed forced and uncertain. Cheshire suddenly pulled out a black envelope and handed it to Kaine. "Cheshire this isn't..."

"You've skipped out on the last three meeting of the Order, Kaine. The counsel will not accept any excuses so you'd better meet up tonight, or else Razz will be getting you," Cheshire merely stated before turning around and walking away. She stopped in front of Harry and Ginny and then sent them a wide grin that almost reached ear to ear. "By the way, Kaine. Say hi ta Kuro for me. Whelp must've grown a bit since last time aye?"

"I will," Kaine smiled sweetly back as the strange girl walked away. She then turned and smiled kindly at the pair before her. "Lets keep this a secret from everyone else for now alright? I don't think that the Headmaster would be to pleased that some of my old colleges are just walking onto school grounds without his hear say,"

"Well..." Ginny began, looking at Harry to take the lead on the question before them. A quick nod on his behalf was all she needed. "Alright Professor,"

"Professor what is that?" Harry pointed at the black envelope that now rested in Kaine's hand. Kaine's eyes widened slightly before she pocketed it.

"Oh nothing," Kaine smiled softly at them as she gently lead them towards the doors to the Great Hall. "Merely old friends,"

"Didn't sound like 'friends' to me..." Ginny muttered when an owl dropped another letter on Kaine's head. Kaine slowly opened it and gained a highly strange look on her face. "What's wrong professor?"

"I..." Kaine sighed as she reread the letter. "Have detention with Professor McGonagall,"

"What?" They both cried.

It was the most interesting thing to watch as Kaine confronted McGonagall about the detention. Apparently McGonagall felt that by all rights that lay in her power, that Kaine was to serve a Saturday detention in Snape's classroom, cleaning cauldrons as punishment for blowing the potions up on peruse. It was quiet amusing to watch Kaine pleading McGonagall to reconsider, and it was only when Snape told them that having to have Kaine served a detention was like sending a two year old in the corner for a time out, pointless because after five minutes she wouldn't remember why. It didn't stop Kaine from hitting him on the head.

Harry in the mean time was still wrapped up in his thoughts over what he and Ginny had seen. The black envelope wasn't normal by any means. Thinking back Harry concentrated hard on the memory. The envelope was midnight black that had a violet highlight to it, like it wasn't made of paper at all. Looking at her again, Harry saw Kaine checking that the envelope was in her pocket. Maybe if he was careful he could sneak it from her and read it.

"Oh my god I can't believe I thought that," Harry groaned and rested his head on the table. He was being nosy and paranoid. Kaine had yet to do anything that even hinted towards her wanting to kill him or anything. "Then again, most of the last teachers did that same..."

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione looked at him over her book. "You're talking to yourself again,"

"I was?" Harry looked at them.

"Yeah, muttering and everything," Ron replied threw a mouth full of mashed potatoes. "Is something wrong mate?"

"Just something on my mind," Harry replied and crawled back into himself. Maybe after classes he could talk to Kaine about it. He wasn't the only one; Ginny seemed to be in deep thought as well. "What's our next class?"

"Charms," Hermione stated as she looked into the book again. "Did you finish your homework Ron?"

At that moment Kaine seemed to give Snape a hard glance, which they both held for a minute. Harry watched their teachers' display of emotion. Kaine's demeanor had changed dramatically, the aurora of warmth about her changed into a slight hostile glance, mean while Snape watched her with calculating eyes as if he was reading her mind. Then they both rose and left the room with quick cold steps that seemed to echo even in the talkative Great Hall.

"I'll catch up with you all later," Harry quickly stated and left just as fast, ignoring Hermione's call. He silently followed the two professors as them walked down to the dungeons once again. 'I can't believe I'm doing this,'

Kaine was the last to enter her own classroom, checking to make sure no one was listening near by. Then she carefully closed to door, however it didn't close all the way as Peeves and placed gum in the doorway. Harry silently crawled up to the door carefully and pushed softly onto the door opening it slightly. Kaine was looking sternly at Snape.

"I'm not asking much of you Severus," Kaine stated in a cool and emotionless tone. "You know I never have,"

"I can't give it to you," Snape merely replied as he sat down. Kaine watched him, her golden eyes never letting him go.

'Golden?' Harry thought as he checked again. No, they were still were blue, just as they always were.

"Severus," Kaine's voice now held a cold edge to it. She lend over him as her hair danced about them as a sort of living curtain. If Harry hadn't reminded himself that she was his teacher he would have done everything she demanded of him. "I will not ask again. I need that bottle,"

"No Kaine," Snape replied and turned away from her.

"Severus Prince Snape," Kaine's demeanor turned violent. Her hand reached out and forced him to look at her as she bared her teeth at him. Suddenly her hair seemed to flare about her, like wild fire from Hell, threatening to burn them both. "I _will_ have that potion whether by force or by will. Now do you want me to show it to everyone?"

'It?' Harry's eyes widened.

"Alright," Snape replied. Hew waved his wand and in an instant a black bottle zipped from his office into his hand, which he handed to Kaine. She held it close to her chest looking pleased. "Are you...?"

"Yes," Kaine exclaimed. "Yes I am sure, Severus. I... I don't want to remember,"

Harry quickly left as his heart thundered in his head. What was it that Kaine had? More importantly what the hell did she do to Snape? Harry quickly ran to her office. He pushed the door open, just in time to hear Kaine yell out her name.

'So, 'Kaine' is the name she gave her office for the Floo system,' Harry thought just as Kaine reappeared and looked at him surprised.

"Harry?" She stated and then smiled. "Is there something you need?"

'She's so different now,' Harry thought as he cleared his throat. "Um Professor?"

"Yes?"

"That envelope that that girl gave you?" Harry rubbed his arm in slight nervousness. "What was it about?"

"Girl? You mean Cheshire?" Kaine asked as Harry nodded. "That envelope isn't anything. Merely spam if you will," She glanced at the time. "Your next class is starting soon Harry, better get going,"

Harry nodded and then left with only one thought in mind.

'I'll follow her tonight,'

While Kaine, was left with only this thought in her mind.

'Now where is my classroom again?'

God I'm sorry for the long wait. School has been crazy and I've been sick too. Crap. Anyways, funny how I can't remember what color her eyes or hair was. I'm been making too many characters. Hope you all like it and I will update again as soon as I can.


	7. Chapter 7: “Dreams and Nightmares”

AN: Hey, I live. Okay, first things first. I realized that I didn't explain what Kaine's outfit looks like. It's sort of like a poncho/cloak. No one can see what she is wearing under her cloak. Also, this is a dark chapter and hits in on the M rating.

This by the way means scene change.

Chapter Seven 

"Dreams and Nightmares"

_It was raining hard that night and lightning cut across the sky. _

_Harry was cold; the warmth that held him before, and protected him from the rain, had long disappeared. The silence was becoming unbearable. He got wet from the rain and cried out. He could hear footsteps running through the rain; the heavy splashing echoed in spite of the storm._

_'Help me,' Harry cried, but only wails left his mouth. 'Help me.'_

_The keeper of the footsteps was yelling into the night, her voice hoarse. She sounded scared and sad. She was yelling something, something familiar. _

_Suddenly a figure stood over him, shielding him from the rain. Strong hands gently picked him up and held him close, giving him warmth. Through the blur of rain, Harry could make out messy black hair hidden under a cloak. Suddenly the steps were close and a voice screamed through the air._

"_LET HIM GO!"_

Harry jolted awake with his body covered in an inch of sweat and his heart beating at the rate of a hummingbird's. He glanced out the window only to see an inky black sky with only a few stars lighting the night.

He looked about him, finding Ron lying sideways on his bed, snoring loudly and his sheets were tangled at his feet. Neville was curled up under his covers, holding his pillow tightly as he grinned softly in his sleep, and Seamus...

Seamus was muttering loudly in his sleep with a stupid grin across his face; that reminded Harry a good deal of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

Harry crawled out of bed, letting only the ghostly rustling of his sheets indicate that he had moved. He quickly, but quietly, dressed himself in an old, well-worn, wool sweater that had shrunk in the wash and no longer fitted Dudley and a pair of jeans, before sneaking past his roommates and down the stairs.

Harry had barely reached the portrait hole when a small, but firm, voice called out to him.

"I'm coming too."

Harry turned to see Ginny dressed and waiting in the shadows. Her black robe concealed her well, almost like a ninja hidden in the shadows.

"Ginny..." Harry began but her expression told him that she was going, whether he wanted her to or not. He sighed in defeat and smiled softly in the dull light of the dying fireplace. "You'll need a thicker cloak."

Ginny returned the smile softly.

It was cold and damp in the small room, even the dull light that crept from the space under the door, her eyes could see the droplets of murky water dripping out of the leaky water pipe.

She stared blindly as the sounds of the outside world seemed to dull down into a low buzz of noise. She felt so tired, hungry, and cold. How long had it been since she had fed?

One, two months? Her body fat was beginning to dissipate, leaving her thin and sickly looking; her once beautiful hair was now shaggy, unclean, and wiry.

Suddenly, the heavy sound of a key unlocking and accident lock seemed to scream through the in-audible buzz of noise and her eyes shifted to the light. The door opened softly, only to show a small girl with wavy, black hair and deep brown eyes.

"Em... Emily?" the woman whispered. In an instant, her gray eyes dilated and she curled up into a ball. "Oh God, make it stop."

_Her mind filled with blood, as Jerusalem was flooded by the Christian-marked knights. _

_People were rounded up like cattle; screams, yells, and cries rang through the air, both human and animal. _

_To her side stood the same child as before, looking scared as the knights pointed their weapons at them. In an instant, a woman with chestnut hair and sapphire eyes, dressed only in a cloak, that hid her clothing under it, bent down, and pulled the child close._

"_Emily, listen to me," the woman ordered, speaking Arabic in a calm tone. "Stay close to me, understand? No wandering off. I' shall protect three from them."_

"_Alright Kaine," Emily replied, only to have a tall, looming shadow stand over her._

"_All of the children must come with us," a knight demanded. Kaine's eyes looked hatefully at him. "Thee. Thee aren't Muslim, nor from here."_

"_Nay, I be Christian, like thee, kinsman," Kaine glared and pulled Emily closer. "Why are you doing this?"_

"_Why art thee with these heathens?" the knight demanded. Kaine instantly hissed at him._

"_Who are thee to judge those of distant lands? Tis' thee and thy men whom are strangers to this ground."_

"_Enough woman, the child!" with that, he tore Emily away from Kaine's grasp and threw her towards the other children._

"_KAINE!" Emily screamed in terror. In an instant, Kaine rushed towards them, but two more knights held her back._

"_UNHAND HER! EMILY!" Kaine screamed, forgetting to speak the local tongue as Emily kicked and screamed. The knight grew tired of her screams and slapped the child across the face, sending her crashing to the floor. "EMILY! YOU BASTARD!"_

"_The place of a woman tis to be seen, but never heard," the knight stated calmly. "If thou knowith not thine place, I would gladly showith to thee."_

"_Coward," Kaine hissed as the knight walked up to her. He took a piece of her hair and twisted it around his finger. "Who are thee to use the Lord's name in vain?" she spat in his face, scowling hatefully._

"_I see," the knight muttered, but turned away. "Kill the children."_

"_NO!" Kaine scream. "EMILY!"_

_It all happened in a flash, and yet, it replayed itself before Kaine. _

_A fellow knight took heavy long strides up behind Emily who looked confused as to why Kaine was screaming her name. The knight unsheathed his sword, the silver reflecting the sunlight as he rose it high above his head. _

_The ground came closer as Kaine felt herself pushed down when she tried to run towards the girl. _

_Emily slowly turned and glanced behind her just as the sword slashed her from the shoulder to the bottom of her rib cage; blood splattered across the ground, some splashed onto the knights, some of it on the other children. _

_Kaine's eyes widened in shock as the world fell silent. It was about then she realized that the blood that was dripping off her own face. Fresh blood... Emily's blood._

_The world of sound returned with an explosion of sound. Screams of terror filled the air along with yelling and barking of commands. Horses reared and cried out as the smell of blood filled the air. _

_Kaine's senses went into hyper drive. The light, noise, the texture of the sticky crimson liquid. Then one sound entered her ears, one sound that made her blood boil._

_The knight was laughing._

"_Let me out," a voice growled inside of her heard. "Let me out."_

_The voice seemed to pace back and forth, in the far catacombs of her mind, like a wild animal locked in a cage. Fierce golden eyes flashed in her mind._

"_LET ME OUT NOW!"_

_Silence filled the air then, all the screams, the movement, everything stopped. _

_The knight stopped laughing in all as he felt an odd pressure where his heart was, only to feel a hard thrust pull out from his back. _

_Trembling, he turned only to see Kaine standing behind him, her eyes wild and golden, and her eyeteeth elongated and snarling. But most of all, her blood-covered hand, that held his still-beating heart. _

_He dropped to his knees, watching in horror as Kaine crushed the organ in her hand and licked the blood from her arm. _

_Then the world disappeared to them both._

_When she had reawakened, Kaine found herself trapped in a cell, chained to the wall by the Crusaders. _

_Sealed away alive in her own tomb, she never understood whom that voice in her head had been. Cursed to live with the knowledge that she had brutally killed five people, by ripping heads or organs out of their bodies, only stopping when the children's cries distracted her. _

_And now, God was mocking her._

_"Leave me be spirit," she whimpered. "Leave me to mine own damnation, and let me die in peace without my past looking into mine eyes."_

"_Razziel!" a girl's voice called. "Seth! I found one!"_

"_Cheshire?" a voice asked as footsteps reached her door. The outlining of a figure stood in the doorway. "Kaine?"_

Kaine jolted awake with a heavy layer of sweat covering her body. The white cotton nightgown she wore, clung to her body, the material soaked, and her skin showing through its transparency.

Her breathing seemed labored and, for a moment, Kaine thought that she couldn't breathe. Her eyes were wide in horror and her jaw hurt almost as if it had really been slammed into ground. Once her breath returned, she fell back onto her bed.

'Breathe Kaine; just breathe. Just breathe.'

Her heart was beating hard and fast, thundering in her ears, stopping all sound from reaching her mind. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her heart and get her lungs to accept air.

"Why?" Kaine whispered as she closed her eyes softly again, the back of her hand resting against her forehead. "Why are these memories coming back? After all those years? Why now...?"

"Kaine..." a child's voice asked.

Kaine eyes bolted open and she shot back up with a gasp.

There, behind her eyelids, was the image of Emily, covered in her own blood.

Kaine struggled to regain her breath before looking at the clock. A quarter past midnight flashed on the wall where she had placed her enchanted alarm clock. She smiled sadly as she glanced at it.

In her third year, Lily had given it to her as a Christmas gift, it was actually amazing the damned thing still worked considering all the abuse it had gone through.

As she walked towards her wardrobe, Kaine pulled the nightgown over her head and tossed it aside, allowing her skin to breathe in the cool night air. She reached over and pulled on her cloak, but not before looking at herself in the mirror.

Scars covered her body, mostly across her back and a star like scar rested over her left breast, while the tattoo cross graced her large neck. All of the scars were reminders, reminders of her past lives, the ones she remembered and had forgotten, and of the years of hardship she had gone through to gain the cross.

Turning away, she gently ran her fingers over the fabric of her cloak and found the small black rose embroidery that was hidden by the folded collar of her cloak.

"Roses are for remembering," she whispered. "Black is for the sins we commit upon our mortal souls."

And with that, she dressed herself and left for the meeting.

A/N: Yeah! Done. Soo sleeeeeeeeeepy zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

E/N: Me too. ZZZZZ!


	8. Chapter 8: The Wolf

AN: Hey everyone, sorry for taking so long. My editor was taking her sweet time with this chapter. (everyone growl at her) Nah I just kidding, Nan has been busy just like me so I don't blame her. After all, we are both still in highschool (I'm finishing it soon hell's yeah!) so we have homework and other fun thins to ready ourselves for. Now on the other hand, it maybe a while before I post another chapter. I'm trying to reformat my laptop which is my only computer so it may take a while. Other then that I hope you enjoy this chapter and the spoiler for chapter nine here at the end.

Chapter Eight

The Wolf

The night air was crisp, cold, bitter, and highly unwelcoming to any traveler by night. Kaine stood at the edge of the woods, staring blankly into its murky darkness. She gently retrieved and uncorked a small vial from her pocket, and took a quick sip from it. Then, she reached back and unclipped the contraption holding her hair, releasing her long, chestnut locks to dance in the night breeze. Again, her eyes looked out at the forest, tired and old.

"Lily," she whispered softly, as she pocketed the hair clip. "You would have been so proud."

And with that, she pulled the collar of her cloak close to her face and continued on her way through the forest.

The small hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she instantly glanced behind her, only to see a small rabbit scamper away into a bush. She began berating herself for even bothering to turn. Of course it was a bloody rabbit, she was in a forest wasn't she? Where else would small woodland animals run about in the dead of night?

"Damn it Kaine, you should never have taken that drink," she muttered in an irritated tone, pressing her hand against her eyes. "Just keep going," with that, Kaine held out her hand. "Luminai Nochtura."

Meanwhile, hiding behind a tree, Harry and Ginny stood squished together in order to stay hidden from Kaine's sight. They both watched in silence as a blue flame appeared in Kaine's palm and illuminated her way as she continued. As soon as the dull glow was the only thing that signaled Kaine's presence, they both released a deep breath and smiled at each other in relief.

Harry grinned a bit as Ginny giggled, the tension fading from the air. She had a pretty smile, warm and welcoming, her rosy lips looking as soft as flower petals.

"Harry," Ginny's voice was like music in his ear. "We should follow her."

"Hmm? Oh! Oh yeah, I think you're right," Harry released Ginny from his embrace reluctantly and looked around the other side of the tree. "I don't believe it! She's gone!"

"Harry..." Ginny's voice whispered. "Harry..."

"What is it Ginny? We need to find Professor Nighttrod..."

"Harry look!" Ginny pointed of into the shadows of he forest. "Do you see it?"

At first Harry saw nothing, only the darkness from the looming woods, but as his eyes adjusted to the poor lighting he began to make out a form.

It was short but bulky, the shoulders high and powerful looking, as a set of golden eyes glared back at them. Stepping forward into the moon light, a black wolf took long and careful strides. Never before had Harry seen something so common, so powerful, and beautiful, yet deadly and terrifying. The wolf stared at them, its eyes fixed on their forms, never releasing the gaze it held with their eyes. It was as if the wolf was reading their very souls.

"Ginny," Harry whispered, his eyes shifting between the golden spheres and the alert ears of the beast before them. "Start moving towards Hogwarts slowly." Ginny took a quick step towards the castle, only to have the wolf focus on her, it's fangs bared in a feral snarl. "Slowly, Ginny. Slowly."

Together, they began to inch towards the castle, the wolf circling them until they were away from the Forbidden Forest.

The time seemed to drag on forever, the wolf growling and drooling menacingly at the two until finally they were at the edge. Then, without warning, the black beast sneezed, shook it's massive head, growled one last time, and ran into the forest, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

-----

The next morning, Harry told Hermione and Ron about the night before.

"Are you sure Harry?" Hermione asked, as she put some marmalade onto a bit of toast. The whole time he was narrating, it seemed as if she wasn't really interested in what he had been saying; but then again, she was studying for a test in Ancient Runes. "I mean, a flame in her hand?"

"I'm telling you, it's what we saw," Harry growled. "Just ask Ginny."

"We did, and she said she didn't see any flame. She only saw light," Ron replied, and stuffed two pieces of toast and one fried egg into his mouth, at once. Harry and Hermione would have gaped at this if it wasn't such an everyday occurrence. "By the way, why were you with my sister last night, anyway?"

Harry didn't answer right away.

He didn't know how to explain to Ron that they were following Kaine, and not going out to snog in the cover of darkness, even if the thought was anything but unpleasant.

Luckily, at that very moment, Kaine entered the Great Hall; however her appearance was very different than usual.

Her posture wasn't straight, nor was her hair set or brushed neatly. If anything, it looked as if she had gotten into a fight, or had been running from a thorn-bush for the entire night. Her hair gave off another reddish sheen, just as it had the night they had seen her for the first time, making it seem like a timid fire or it was drenched in blood. There were heavy bags under her eyes, and the normally kind smile that was often found on her face, was gone. Her steps were heavy and sluggish, much like Uncle Vernon's steps in the morning before he got his first cup of coffee. She had barely reached her normal seat when she plopped heavily into said chair and began to cut up and chew her cloth napkin.

"Professor Kaine looks tired today," Lavender Briwn replied, as she looked over at a slightly groggy Snape who sat next to her. "Looks like someone pulled an all-nighter."

"I don't think Professor Snape or Kaine have any school work they need to finish Lavender." Hermione answered.

There was a loud thud from the teachers' table.

All the students turned to look, only to see that Snape had quickly snatched the bowl of oatmeal away Kaine's face right before her face could land in it. In an instant, there was a small argument between students over whether Snape had done that out of kindness or revenge for being called 'Susan'.

"I don't think Lavender was talking about school work, Hermione." Ginny whispered and the girls broke into a soft giggle.

Harry, however, turned slightly red at this comment, while Ron looked up confused.

"What?" he asked. "I don't follow."

However, it wasn't only the morning that seemed to wander from being its usual self. Even Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed off balance, as Kaine appeared sluggish and even more disorientated. She didn't greet the class, or even really talk to them. Rather, she told them to read the section in their books on counter spells and be ready for a test next week.

She seemed distant to all of them, like there was much on her mind, and she had not had enough rest or time to work it out. Harry looked at her eyes as they began to glaze over with thoughts, and it occurred to him, again, that she seemed years older... centuries was a more operative word. It wasn't long before sleep claimed her, and the room fell quiet in order to allow her to rest.

This was all the same to Harry.

He knew that she hadn't spent the night with Snape, as she was the only one who had left Hogwarts that night, apart from him and Ginny... or so he believed; he hadn't checked the marauders map so no one could be sure.

Harry heard a slight huff to his side, and he turned to see Kaine's black dog, Kuro, sitting next to him, grinning an unusual smile for a dog. He gently pet the animal, even if it was unnerving to look at the dog's smile.

It was more then clear that the dog was blind, the red eyes told that fact clearly, but nevertheless, it seemed to like Harry more than the others; he never jumped and panicked with Harry like he did when other students would pet him. Harry figured this was why the animal remained within Kaine's classroom. Harry smiled softly at the dog, when he seemed to fall into the depths of the crimson pools, until darkness overtook him.

-----

Harry recognized the feeling.

He'd had dreams like these before, where he was in a place and at the same time, he wasn't. The feeling could only be described as being a ghost; seeing everything and everyone about him, and yet being unable to affect them in any way.

Harry glanced about him, but found nothing familiar. Wherever he was, it was poorly lit, and the walls were narrow and lumpy, like mountainsides. He cautiously lead himself forward, to where he arrived at a doorway, where light seemed to breathe about the bottom and an angry voice yelled on the other side. Moving closer, Harry pressed his ear against the door to listen in.

"...I hear that the old man has hired a Sinner in his school," a voice barked in a hateful laugh. "Surely that old fool knows what he has taken in."

"Sinner?" a nervous voice asked. Harry's eyes widened, as he instantly matched the voice to the face. He could almost see Peter Pettigrew standing weakly in a corner amongst the men. "What is a Sinner?"

"It matters not what that woman is," an angry voice hissed. Harry held his breath as he recognized Voldemort's voice. "I need that woman's blood to gain more power."

"But... but Nightwalker..." Peter whimpered. "She is... she was..."

"Don't go sentimental on us now Wormtail!" a fourth voice laughed cruelly. Harry couldn't place a face to the voice. "After all, she isn't even human."

'What the hell am I doing?' Harry thought suddenly, and began to open the door a little bit, if only so he could see them. 'I'm not really here anyways.'

The room was old fashioned, and decorated with tapestries and shields that covered the walls, along with the heads and skins of animals. Harry felt his heart pain slightly as he caught the glimpse of what appeared to be a unicorn's pelt, hung above the fireplace. There stood two other men along with Peter and Voldemort whose faces Harry couldn't recognize.

They were both tall and from what he could see, complete opposites in appearance. One had long, blond hair that was tied back with a black silk ribbon, and carried himself in an almost aristocratic manner. The other, though, had short, neatly cut, black hair that gave off blue shine to it in the fire light. The blond had a scowl on his face that showed greater hate than anything else, towards the subject of their conversation, while the other was calmer in posture and more in control of his emotions.

Harry couldn't tell how they were built, as both wore baggy, loose, black clothing.

"After all, she has no past to remember," the blond one laughed cruelly.

"You shouldn't take _Nightwalker_ so lightly," the black haired one muttered. "After all, it takes more the just bravery to face an army of darkness to save a friend."

"Are you saying I should fear that rouge fledgling?" The blond hissed.

"My dear lord, you misunderstood…"

The man finally turned to reveal his face in the lighting. He had a sharp face with no facial hair however it was his mocking smile and his eyes that drew Harry's attention the most. Sapphire eyes looked at the others with cruelty and the sadistic enjoyment for the blond's discomfort.

Nothing about this man was pleasant.

"I'm saying she is not a fledgling anymore than you are. After all, she is not called 'The Executioner' without reason, even in the Ministry of Magic's eyes," he then chuckle maliciously. "Oh I can't wait to see her face when we meet again. She'll be at a _loss_ for words."

-----

At that moment, Harry jolted awake in pain, his scar burning like nothing else. The world seemed to burst with sound and color again, as he recognized Hermione's and Ron's voices calling his name, along with Kuro's constant barking. Opening his eyes, Harry saw the dog looking panicked and confused, running between Harry and Kaine.

It was then that Harry began hearing Kaine's voice. Turning his head upwards, Harry could make out his professor's form hunched over her desk, swearing loudly in a language that none of them knew. Blinking a few tears out of his eyes, Harry looked to see her gripping her arms in a harsh grip, hissing as she rubbed her wrist, as both of their pains began to disappear.

"Damn it, Harry," Kaine groaned, but smiled nevertheless, as she looked at him. "Don't scare us like that again. I nearly broke my wrist from that one." She quickly looked at the clock, however, and smiled. "Well, class is dismissed, better hurry to your next classes."

Kaine immediately opened the classroom door, and set herself to petting Kuro, who seemed unnerved by the whole event.

Harry eyed her closely, as he and the others walked out, ignoring Hermione's comments until she stepped in front of him.

"Harry what did you dream?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure, not yet anyways. Not that it really matters." Harry replied as he turned towards Ron and noticed that he was in deep thought. "Ron?"

"She lied," Ron muttered. "Professor Kaine started screaming at the same time you did."

"She's hiding something," Harry muttered. "And _we_ are going to find out what."

----

Meanwhile, in a castle far, far away, the old building stood in the shadows. It had been empty for years, due to its condemnation.

Or, at least, it was supposed to be.

A sole, pale, flicker of light told any passersby that someone had lit a fire within the stone walls. Four figures stood frozen in the lit room, three watching the fourth one closely as he pressed hard against his wrist.

"My lord, I'm afraid that _we_ must retire for the day," the black haired man stated, as he moved away from the fire. "Although Gabriel may have built an immunity towards the light, I've yet to gain that ability and the sun will up soon. Good day to you both."

"What did you do?" Gabriel asked once the Dark Lord and Wormtail left. He, in all honesty, disliked them both, but they both had a common goal. "You know something; what is it?"

"Oh nothing," the man grinned evilly and rubbed his wrist. "Just getting rid of some unwanted viewers."

AN: Gasp! Who are these two new members, Gabriel and an unknown black haired guy? Who is Nightwalker and why did Kaine's wrist hurt at the same time Harry's scar did? But more importantly what happened to Kaine in the forest and where did that wolf come from? Until next time, here's a little treat for the next chapter which is...

Chapter Nine Plant Problems

"What is it?"

Kaine glanced at the tiny sickly weed that Sprout had handed her. It was a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that looked like they should have been moving but weren't. At the moment, it reminded Kaine of only one thing.

A highly ugly fern.

"It's a baby Devil Snare, Kaine," Sprout giggled softly. She was always a bubbly woman with a kind heart.

"What the hell am I suppose to do with a plant?" Kaine glanced at the woman nervously. Surely Pomona wasn't going to ask her...

"Care for it," Sprout grinned sweetly as Kaine looked mortified. "I figured some green in your classroom would brighten it up some more. Well I'd best get going, see you at the Quidditch match Kaine!"

"WAIT! POMONA!" Kaine cried out as Sprout turned the corner and left Kaine with the plant. Sighing Kaine glanced at the seedling. "I can't even kept fungus alive."

The Devil Snare suddenly shuddered in terror.


	9. Chapter 9: Plant Problems

AN: I'm not good at writing Quidditch games; yes I'm flaking on it, sort of. On another note, so that everyone can get an idea as to what Kaine looks like, my boyfriend Jeff drew my character who will sometime in the future appear in his story. (grins) Here's the address: (www. deviantart . com / view / 25897883) just copy the link and remove the spaces in between. Also I would like to give a special thanks to Rinacat, who's beautiful and cute artwork inspired this chapter. The link will be at the bottom so that it won't spoil the up-coming scene.

Chapter Nine 

Plant Problems

It was mid October now, which meant it should have been getting colder; yet despite that, one could not find a single student or teacher about Hogwarts wearing a scarf or jumper. The sun was shining heavily onto the grounds, encouraging the foul centaurs to step out onto the Hogwarts grounds to play or merely lie and bask in the light. Even the merpeople seemed to beach themselves on the shallow shores to merely enjoy the good weather. Everything was perfect to celebrate the first Quidditch match of the year; Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw.

Up in her office, Kaine sat calmly behind her desk, grading a rather large stack of tests which had been given to all of her students, looking proud at the scores she was handing out. Kuro, in the meantime, was lying happily on her bed, waiting for her to finish so that they could go to the game.

Kaine smiled softly as she graded Neville Longbottom's parchment. Despite his highly skittish nature he had done extremely well on the counter-curse test. True, it was only a written, but he had been amongst the first ten to finish and his answers were written with confidence. Kaine smiled softly, as she knew that Alice and Frank would have been proud.

Kaine then glanced about her room. Inch upon inch of the room was covered with pictures of past colleagues and friends, all of them moving and smiling back at her. Rising from her seat, Kaine walked over, pulled one of the pictures down, and sat next to Kuro, who looked over her shoulder to see.

The picture was simple, a group of six standing together dressed in their school robes. There were four boys in the picture and two girls, three dressed in black school robes with red and yellow scarves wrapped around their necks, two dressed in bright red Quidditch robes, and one dressed in a simple tan-colored cloak.

Both girls had red hair, but the one in the school robes had an angel's face with bright green eyes that shined with happiness and hope, while the other girl, in the tanned cloak, had blue eyes that were hollow and lost, along with a bandage wrapped about her head.

The two boys that were dressed in the red robes had black hair, one's wild and unruly, while the other's was long and shaggy like. The other two boys had pale brown, almost blond hair, but the taller of the two had a few gray hairs mixed into the brown. It was clearly winter in the picture, as snow covered everything about them.

Kaine chuckled as the six friends began cheering happily. She remembered that day easily, the first Hogwarts Quidditch Match she had gone to. James Potter had been a seeker back then and Sirius Black had been a Beater. In the photo, Kaine watched James run over and twirl Lily Evans around as they laughed merrily, while Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew tried to make Sirius release Kaine from a headlock while stuffing snow down her back.

Kaine shook her head at the picture. She clearly recalled regretting that day as a Bludger had somehow struck her on the side of the head, which was the reason behind the bandage. However, her amusement slowly died away as she looked at herself shrieking and laughing as she and the others returned the favor to Sirius.

James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew... four friends lost to mortality, one scorned by society. And yet, here she was, after all the pain and suffering, she had earned her cross and now spent the day teaching Harry Potter the art of protection, helping him grow along with his friends. Something she failed to do for her friends.

A small whine called her from her memories and Kaine looked to see Kuro nudging his head against her elbow. He looked worriedly at her as she wiped a set of tears from her eyes that she didn't realize had appeared.

"I'm fine, Kuro," she smiled, as she patted him kindly on the head. "Now let's get going. The match starts in an hour."

She rose to grab blanket to prevent Kuro from freezing in any possible, soaring wind, when suddenly, Professor Pomona Sprout appeared in her office bearing what appeared to be a gift.

"Ah! Professor Nighttrod..." Sprout greeted her.

"Night_trod,_" Kaine corrected, only to see a twinkle of amusement in Pomona's eyes.

"Close enough," Sprout giggled and then pushed a small pot into Kaine's hands. "I brought you a gift for your classroom."

Kaine blinked a few times, when it slowly occurred to her what had just happened. She couldn't stop the rude question from escaping her mouth.

"What is it?"

Kaine glanced at the tiny sickly weed that Sprout had handed her. It was a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that looked like they should have been moving, but weren't. At the moment, it reminded Kaine of only one thing.

A highly ugly fern.

"It's a baby Devil's Snare, Kaine," Sprout giggled softly. She was always a bubbly woman with a kind heart.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with a plant?" Kaine glanced at the woman nervously. Surely Pomona wasn't going to ask her...

"Care for it," Sprout grinned sweetly as Kaine looked mortified. "I figured some green in your classroom would brighten it up some more. Well I'd best get going, see you at the Quidditch match Kaine!"

"WAIT! POMONA!" Kaine cried out as Sprout turned the corner and left Kaine with the plant. Sighing Kaine glanced at the seedling. "I can't even keep fungus alive."

The Devil Snare suddenly shuddered in terror.

"Crap," Kaine huffed as Kuro rolled over and gave off what sounded like a barking laugh. "Oh, who asked you anyway?"

Kaine quickly walked into her classroom and placed the plant on a shadowed corner where the sunlight wouldn't reach it. The Devil's Snare did add some color to her room, but she still wasn't sure why Sprout had decided that she needed a dangerous plant in her class. It seemed more like Hagrid's thing to do. Glancing at it more, she recalled the day when the Marauders and Lily learned about Kaine's _herbal_ abilities.

"_What did you do?" Sirius cried as Kaine presented the pot that seemed to have some white fuzz over it._

"_Nothing," Kaine replied as she poked at it, making a small smiley face in its surface. "Except what I was told to do."_

"_I don't believe it," James replied while he struggled to trim some leaves off a Venomous Tentacula. "Even Peter is better at Herbology than you."_

"_Oh gee, thanks," Kaine groaned as she shot him an angry glare. "Just what I need, to hear you bust my self esteem."_

"_Hey!" Peter cried, only to have the Fanged Geranium bite his dragon hide gloves. "Yikes!"_

"_Honestly, Kaine," Lily whispered as Professor Longtrol neared them. "What did you do?"_

"_Nothing except for what she told me," Kaine hissed back. "I told you guys, plants don't like me."_

"_Did you water it?" Remus asked as he forced the Fanged Geranium off Peter and back into its pot, before returning to his Mandrake._

"_No Remus, I thought it had hydrophobia and liked the desert. Of course I damn well watered it!" Kaine growled under her breath. "I did every thing she told me to; water it, keep it in dark, damp places, give it sugar …. EVERY THING!"_

"_And yet," Remus whispered. "It still died on you."_

"_Amazing." Peter and Lily whispered. Sirius' eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement._

"_Don't even say it, Sirius." Kaine growled under her breath._

"_Well," Sirius grinned as he ruffled Kaine's hair. "At least we know who to call when we have mildew problems."_

"_SHUT UP!" Kaine yelled as she threw the pot at his head._

Ah yes, those were the... well they were something. Kaine sighed as she recalled being the only student in the history of Hogwarts to get a 'T' in Herbology and still get a 'She's doing her best' on an O.W.L. Yes, Herbology for Kaine was like potion's for Neville; a disaster waiting to happen.

Yelp!

Kaine looked up to see Kuro growling at the Devil's Snare. Apparently, he had been sniffing it and it had slapped one of its thorny tentacles onto his nose. Kaine laughed softly at that before signaling him to follow her out the door. After all, there was a match to be watched.

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Harry glanced around the Quidditch arena as the game began.

Demelza Robins was busy passing the Quaffle between Ginny Weasley, Katie Bell, and herself. Ron was flying close to the goals, making sure no one would score on the Ravenclaw side as long as he could keep his 'stage fright' under control.

Meanwhile Thomas Dean was busy trying to hit the Bludgers towards the Ravenclaw chasers as Roger Davies stole the Quaffle and passed it to Lura Greenharp. The game was wild; the Quaffle seemed to just barely reach the goal hoops when, suddenly, another chaser would steal it in midair. So far the game was going well, as he scanned the grounds and kept his eyes open for any sign of gold or silver.

Kaine sat next to Hagrid and McGonagall as she watched the game with Kuro resting near her feet. It felt strange to be sitting next to two people who had been there for her a student, and more. Hagrid was a dear friend to Kaine, having helped heal her from one of the late night missions that she had to do. Kaine recalled strongly how he had covered up a break and massive gash in her arm, claiming that she had gotten too close to the Whomping Willow. While McGonagall had helped her cover up the nights when she was caught after curfew by the other staff members and students.

Kaine then returned her attention to the game, while Kuro barked and yipped as Harry went flying after the Snitch. Kaine grinned as she noticed how he looked just like James flying through the air, as he quickly turned to avoid a Bludger. The Bludger flew close to the teacher's stand causing Kaine to instantly duck, even though there was a ward up that prevented the Bludger from flying beyond the Quidditch rink.

"Ms. Nighttrod?" Kaine looked up, to see a strange scarecrow with long frizzy hair and bottle glasses that made her eyes look like an anime character from Pokémon. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Kaine replied as she brushed off her cloak. "I've always been nervous around Quidditch, can't remember why though."

"I do." Snape muttered as Kuro hopped into his lap and curled up. "Remember the first game you went to 'willingly'?"

_It had been snowing heavily the night before the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. _

_The halls were buzzing like a hive of bees over which house would win, as both were known for having great seekers. At the Gryffindor table, the small group of friends were chatting about their plans to get the school's number one anti-socialite to join up for the game._

"_Maybe if we curse her..." Sirius whispered as to make sure that the teachers didn't hear him._

"_She'll counter it, Padfoot," James replied as he scratched his chin for a moment. "Maybe we could drug her and then..."_

"_That will never work," Peter replied as he shook his head. "Remember when Peeves gave her the custard tarts filled with hot sauce? She won't trust anything that people hand to her now."_

"_Was pretty funny when she tormented him and turned him into a squeaky toy for Kuro." Sirius grinned at that memory._

"_We could just ask her." Remus suggested, only to get surprised looks from everyone._

"_Moony, where is your creativity?" James groaned. "We need to do something drastic to bring her, like stuffing her in a bag, bound and gagged."_

"_If anyone is being put in a bag, Prongs, it will be you," a cold voice growled behind them._

_Shuddering at the suddenly murderous aura behind them, the marauders turned to find the very subject they were talking about standing there, glaring. _

_Kaine had only been at the school for three months, and already she knew that James Potter and his crew were always up to no good, whether it was picking on the scrawny Slytherin, Severus Prince-Snape, or never giving her a moment's peace; she knew they meant trouble. _

_They weren't really friends, more like pests that seemed to know exactly where she was at all times._

_Kaine was infamous at the school, defying the teachers at a constant, when it came to the rules. She never paid attention in any of the classes nor would she answer questions thrown at her by Filch or Slughorn, whom for unknown reasons, highly disliked her. But what made her stand out the most, was the fact that she never wore the school uniform, but instead, an old, tan colored, poncho-like cloak and deerskin boots that made her look like a traveler from a storybook._

"_Kaine!" Sirius laughed nervously. Even if they were on her better side, Kaine had proved that she was more then willing to maim them if provoked. "Funny thing really, we were just talking about you..."_

"_I noticed," Kaine muttered and then put on a frighteningly sweet smile. "Boys," she started as she placed her hands on James and Sirius' shoulders. "Even though we have spent some many 'fun filled' hours together, understand that I have by no means any intention of joining any mass of people to view some pointless sport." She then gave their shoulders a tight squeeze that nearly crushed their collarbones. "Is that clear?"_

"_Crystal." James and Sirius whimpered and rubbed their shoulders._

"_It would be nice if you joined us Kaine," Remus replied. He shrank back when Kaine glared at him with a look that promised pain. "But it's up to you."_

"_Glad you see it my way." Kaine smirked. She then turned to leave when Lily tapped her shoulder. "Yes?"_

"_Hey Kaine, will you join us for the Quidditch match tonight?" Lily asked sweetly. Like James, she too never left Kaine alone, but was better at not annoying her._

"_Lily, I don't really..." Kaine started, when Lily's green eyes began to water._

"_Why me?" Kaine muttered as she stood next to Lily in a sea of red._

"_You say something?" Lily yelled over the roar of cheers as James held the snitch in his hands._

"_Never mind," Kaine groaned as she looked at Lily who leant closer to hear her. "Only that I wasted three hours of my life when I could have been reading."_

"_You study too much Kaine," Lily laughed softly. "Don't you know the saying 'All work and no play makes..."_

"_... Kainie a very dull girl.' Yes I've heard that only three hundred and ninety two times from James and Sirius," Kaine muttered. "No matter how much I hurt them, they never cease from calling me that."_

"_What? Kainie?" Lily asked as she led Kaine down to the field. "I think it's cute."_

"_I swear Lily Evans," Kaine growled. "If you so much as utter that 'nickname' at me, I'll personally send you to St. Mungo's."_

"_LILY! KAINIE!" James yelled as he spun Lily in the air, with a giant grin on his face. _

"_Did you see that?"_

"_I don't see how we could miss it," Kaine muttered. "I only lost most of my hearing at this viewing...ARGH!"_

"_You're sooo old fashioned Kainie!" Sirius cried as he flung his arm around Kaine's neck and gave her a noogie. He too had been in the game as a Beater "Lighten up!"_

"_SIRIUS!" A voice cried out. Turning, the group saw that other beater, Billy Kinkad, was struggling to get one of the Bludgers into the Quidditch case. "Help me, you ass!"_

"_Gotta go," Sirius smiled as he shoved Kaine onto Remus who had just joined the group. However, as he neared the case, he got a brilliant idea. "HEY KAINIE! Look what I can do!"_

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SIRIUS!" Billy screamed._

"_What is it now..." Kaine muttered as she turned only to see a Bludger zoom straight at her. 'Oh crud.'_

_Everything happened fast. Lily gave a quick scream as James threw both her and himself onto the ground. Remus jumped out of the way, pulling Peter's scarf with him and Kaine's world went black as the Bludger collided into the side of her head with a loud 'THUWACK!' before hitting the ground. Severus Snape, having seen everything, quickly ran over and shook Kaine slightly, while Sirius stared in horror._

"_Oh my god! Kaine!" Snape and Lily yelled, while Kaine remained unconscious and foaming at the mouth._

"_What happened here?" McGonagall cried as she rushed to the scene._

"_Wasn't me." Sirius replied only to gain several angry and accusing glares._

Kaine slowly snapped out of her flashback as it all came back to her vividly, while Snape and Trelawney watched her nervously.

With in seconds Kaine began to swear loudly in a foreign tongue, where they only recognized the words 'Sirius', 'nails', and 'painful death'. Severus sighed at this.

It wasn't the first time he had heard her speak that language, although he didn't know what language it was, and he knew there was no stopping her in her rants. In fact, it wasn't until the loud screaming from winning Gryffindors, that Kaine returned to a state of some normalcy.

"Huh?" Kaine turned to see Harry holding the snitch as he landed. "He won? HE WON!"

"Course he did," Hagrid grinned. "He's a Potter o' course!"

"Yeah," Kaine smiled softly as Kuro moved away from Snape and next to Kaine. "He really is. Well, I have to get going. Class is in an hour, and I need to get ready."

The nice thing about becoming a professor at Hogwarts was the private bathrooms and bedrooms. There were no noisy roommates to run in and take blackmailing photos of one in the showers or sleeping in bed, no one to 'borrow without permission' any of your things. It was just perfect, especially if you were the caretaker of a very shy ward.

Kuro was happily playing about the small office as Kaine gathered her things for the next lesson with the Slytherins and Gryffindors.

True, she would rather have the day off, but she still liked the fact that the room seemed more colorful and alive with them there. They all brought in their own light with them, their will to learn. Kaine sighed as she looked at Kuro when he threw her his blue ball.

"You need a bath," she whispered the thought out loud, only to giggle as Kuro pouted at her. Suddenly, there was a loud 'SWUUSH!' coming from Kaine's classroom. "Kuro, stay here."

Kaine walked carefully down to the classroom door. She could hear voices on the other side; hushed voices that were too deep to be students and Kaine knew that the staff would have knocked. Suddenly, her nerves ran high as the voice sounded highly familiar, yet she wasn't placing a face with it. In her past profession, Kaine had made a lot of enemies in both high and low places. Taking a deep breath, she tightly gripped her wand and flung open the door with her wand ready.

"Christ! Don't shoot!" a male voice cried, as he dove behind her desk.

"I told yah we should have Owled her!" a thirteen year old, purple-haired girl, who held up her hands immediately.

"Oh fuck no..." Kaine heaved a heavy sigh as she lowered her wand. "For fucks sake, don't do that!"

Getting up from behind the desk, stood a mid-twenties to early-thirties man, with slick, black hair that was tied back into a thin, waist-long pony-tail. He wore rimless rectangle glasses along with a black, tight-fitting, turtleneck sweater, and black slacks. His eyes were a striking silver color that made him seem eerie in the distance or dark, despite his friendly face, while a strange red squiggle ran on his right cheek. His ears poked from underneath his hair, which were slightly pointed in an almost elfish way.

It was funny to think that this calm and cool man who was standing in front of her, was once a blue haired, wanna-be-punk, who had done everything within his power to annoy Kaine in the Ministry.

"But Kainie..." The man whined in a childish voice.

Correction, did everything in his power to annoy her.

"Don't call me that," Kaine hissed as she looked at Cheshire angrily. "Why is he here?"

"Yah know how he is," Cheshire replied casually, as they both ignored the man in the background.

"He follows girls everywhere they go."

"I resent that!" he yelled, looking slightly hurt and angry. "You're making it sound like I sneak into the girl's bathroom."

"You do." Kaine muttered, as she gave him a deadpanned look.

"That was only one time!" he defended. "One time. I was bloody drunk and you know it."

The girls blinked.

"Yah know," Cheshire muttered. "He's right. I remember, because yah were the one who got him drunk."

"That's right," Kaine answered as she too recalled the event. "So, why are you here?"

"It's about the Order, Kaine," the man replied as his demeanor changed drastically. "Kaine, there have been whispers..."

"Whispers?" Kaine asked, she didn't like where this was going. Any Order news, was bad news, and whispers were an omen. "What kind of whispers?"

"Some Fury is moving up in rank," he answered, before he turned towards Cheshire. "Kitten, can you check on Kuro for us? He must be worried about his mommy."

They both watched as Cheshire nodded and walked away.

"Furies don't rise in rank, Wolf," Kaine replied, as she looked at him hard. "They have no system of government. They're only rouges..."

"Well someone is rounding them up and training them," he replied, as he stepped up to her and their eyes met. "Someone is taking control of them, and whoever **he **is, he's bloody good at it too."

Kaine looked horrified and in denial.

"It's _impossible_. Absolutely impossible."

"We are having a meeting tonight Kaine." He looked at her with sympathy. "It's important."

"Professor?" A small voice asked

Within moments, Kaine shoved herself away from 'Wolf,' as if they were secret lovers of some sort. Harry stood in the doorway with his book bag in hand. Both Kaine and the stranger seemed to be flustered that he had entered and disturbed them, whatever they had been talking about seemed to be very hush-hush.

"Well, Ms. Nighttrod," the man suddenly bowed to her, and slipped a black envelope into her hand. "I will be seeing you soon again, I hope."

"Likewise Mr. Fenri," Kaine called after him, as the man walked towards the fireplace.

He then held up his left hand, which caught Harry's attention. Like Kaine, this man, this Mr. Fenri, had a black cross tattooed onto it. "Cheshire! We're leaving."

"Coming!" Cheshire bounced down the steps from Kaine's chambers, and hopped next to Mr. Fenri. "Hey 'Arry! See yah!"

"Cheshire!" Kaine yelled as Fenri threw some Floo Powder into the fire and whispered some location that Harry didn't hear. "His name is Harry!" But by then, she was gone.

"Well Harry, what can I do for you?" Kaine asked, as she tossed the letter into the trash. The message had already been delivered, so there was no point in reading it.

"Errrrr..." Harry watched Kaine closely, as she turned her back on him and flipped through a pile of papers on her desk. Quickly, but quietly, Harry snatched up the letter and pocketed it. "It's just, class is about to begin."

"Right?" Kaine asked as she looked up from her papers. "Well then, you can take a seat."

Kaine smiled kindly as the Slytherins and Gryffindors filed into the room, filling it with chatter and liveliness.

It reminded her of James and the others, back when they were careless and in a state of ignorant bliss, even for her. She recalled how they would talk endlessly about Quidditch and how old Professor Owlstrung, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at the time, was always looking for some way to fail Kaine from the class permanently.

She giggled at the memory of how they had gotten Peeves to dump half a bucket of dung bombs onto the old goat during their sixth year final. Although Albus knew she had been part of it, they never did get the charges to stick.

The class went smoothly as always, Kaine lecturing the students while they took notes, occasionally shooting one or two of them in the head with a small piece of chalk. It was an average day, which was nothing short of a miracle. There was an air of easiness in the room, nothing hinting to the heavy mood that had existed only a few minutes ago.

It was then that Kaine glanced over to the plant in the corner. The sickly thing seemed to be in need of water or something, but Kaine wasn't about to touch it. Again, her luck with plants was the same as trying to dress Voldemort into a pink version of Alice. Glancing about the class, her eyes fell on Seamus.

"Seamus," Kaine called as the boy lifted his head. "Can you do me a favor and water that plant there, for me. There should be a vial up on the shelves for it."

"Sure," Seamus replied as he walked over.

The shelves were covered with pages, jars, books, and bric-a-brac. Nothing was orderly on it, and dust seemed to cover almost everything, making it easy to see if someone had been touching anything on it.

It took a moment, but in the end, Seamus found a black vial on the shelf. He was about to head towards the plant, when he noticed another vial that was green. Looking at the two, he came to a simple and logical conclusion.

Green equals plant.

He placed the black vial back onto the shelf, walked over to the plant, and poured the entire contents of the vial into the Devil's Snare's pot before walking towards his seat.

At first nothing happened. Kaine continued lecturing, the students listened carefully, and the plant remained...well... dead. It wasn't until 15 minutes later that Neville noticed the plant was giving off several spastic shudders. He gently nudged Hermione and pointed at the plant.

"Professor?" Hermione called with an uncertain voice.

"Yes, Ms. Granger?" Kaine asked as she turned to face the classroom, having had her back towards them, as she had been writing on the black board.

"Professor, the plant..." Hermione pointed towards the shuddering plant. "It's acting... well, strange."

"Huh?" Kaine walked over to the plant and studied it closely before something clicked.

"Seamus what vial did you use?"

"The green one," Seamus replied. "Why?"

Kaine glanced nervously at the Snare and then at the vial Seamus had left next to it. She quickly picked it up and held it to the light, trying to see how much was left in the vial. She eyes slowly widened as it occurred to her that it had all been used. She then quickly turned towards the class and spoke the most famous words of Hogwarts.

"Class is dismissed!" and then she ran out of the classroom.

"Now why did she do that..."? Goyle started to ask, as everyone else was in shock from the Professor's hasty departure. "ARGH!"

On the far side of the castle, away from the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, Filch and Ms. Norris were checking the corridors for students that were skipping class. Filch looked up as he heard a distant scream and walked down the hall to see what was happening, only to barely escape being run over by Kaine, yelling something along the lines of 'I didn't do it!'.

He growled after her only to suddenly hear Ronald Weasley's voice crying out.

"Did you see that? She left us! SHE LEFT US!"

"YES I BLOODY KNOW SHE LEFT US!" Hermione Granger screamed at him from behind. "I swear Ron if you say that one more time..."

"SHUT UP AND RUN!" Harry cried, as the Devil Snare chased them down the hallways.

"I'm getting too old for this," Filch muttered, as he turned his back and walked away.

Here is the link to the last scene. Once again a special thanks to Rinacat for giving me the random inspiration for this chapter and sorry it took so long but finals have been up, family issues, and I've been sick, but I made it extra long. (Please don't kill me). Hope you liked it.

(www . Deviantart .com / view / 2809047 / ) just copy the link and remove the spaces in between.

B/N: Heh. Sorry for this. Katrina had the chapter done a couple weeks ago, and it just took me awhile to edit it. Bloody 13 pages long! And, I had finals and procrastination. Don't kill her for the past two weeks. Anything before that, and she's all yours! (Sorry Kat!… heheh.) Hope you liked the chapter.

A/N: Coward! Don't leave me to fend for myself.


	10. Chapter 10: Razziel

AN: The name Razziel is pronounced Ra z el. Just for the record. Also I'll be using some foreign words in this and future chapters but I won't always translate or say where the point of origin is. It's not to annoy people but the story is from Harry's point of view, and lets face it, he knows what? One language at the most. I will have translations note at the bottom. Also '' means scene change. And if you can't wait to find out what the word of line means, just highlight it, copy it and then press Ctrl + F and paste the word/line in it and it should take you to the bottom and back again. Also, if it really bothers you, tell me and I'll stop doing it. Also: **!WARNING! Slight NUDITY AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER BUT NOTHING SEXUAL.** Thank you.

Chapter Ten

Razziel

The moon shined slowly through the windows, casting long ghostly, shadows across the room. Kaine remained seated in the old, worn, leather chair, a glass of crimson liquid nursed in her delicate, long pale fingers.

Normally the need to feed wasn't a strong impulse, in fact it had been suppressed for nearly ten years; but not tonight. It raged inside her, demanding to be fed with a gluttonous appetite. It demanded her to fulfill her instincts and follow the primitive ways of her ancestors, something that Kaine refused to do.

"That had better be what I think it is," a bored voice stated from the darkness.

Dull, lifeless, golden eyes turned lazily towards the source, although the action wasn't needed.

"Severus..." the name seemed to be nothing more than the hollow echo of her voice.

"You're drunk already?" Severus sighed as he took the glass from her. He swirled the liquid about in the glass and breathed in its scent. "Domaine de Chevalier. 1986?"

"Close, 1987," Kaine smiled softly, but it wasn't a happy smile, it held a sense of melancholy. "It's quite rare, really. Se... he gave it to me. As a memory of him."

"Did you..." Snape began to ask as he studied the thickness of the liquid.

"Of course I did," Kaine replied as she rose to surprisingly, steady, feet. "I trust you can keep an eye on Kuro, yes? At least until morning."

"That's why I'm here," Snape answered as he watched Kaine walk over to the bed on the other side of the room. "Is he still afraid that you'll abandon him?"

Kaine knelt down so that she could see Kuro's face. He was asleep at the moment, his crimson eyes closed softly as a sign of the peaceful slumber he was in. He had curled himself tightly into the blankets, making a small shield of security for himself, keeping the blanket close to his nose, which was saturated with Kaine's scent. No nightmares nor ghosts of his past hunted his dreams, at least not tonight.

"If you were tutored for three years, Severus," Kaine answered in a cold voice. "And the last time you woke up alone, the one you cared for the most, was stabbed through the chest, would you not also fear the morning sun?"

'I already have...' Snape thought. "You'd best get going."

"Yes," Kaine muttered, more to herself than to Snape. "I'd best get this over with. If he wakes up, tell him 'Haha wa daijyobu desu.' It will calm him."

"Of course..." Snape muttered, as Kaine disappeared into the shadows. "Bloody little brat only understands Japanese. Couldn't be something common or close like English, or German, or bloody French."

Still, Snape smile a rare, soft small as he brushed the bangs out of Kuro's eyes.

----------

On the grounds of Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were hiding under the Invisibility Cloak, waiting for Kaine to appear. If it wasn't for Hermione, they would have been freezing from the last half hour, but she knew a self heating spell, which kept them nice and warm, despite the winter snow. However they didn't have to wait any longer, as Kaine seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"There she is," Ron whispered as he nudged the others.

"Is it just me, or she she acting strange?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice.

Harry payed no attention to Kaine's strange behavior. The black letter was still fresh in his mind, though it had made little to no sense. All it had said was:

Lady Kaine of the House of Nosfurala;

Report to the alter by the turning of the day, for matters of dire need. Any lack of appearance shan't be tolerated.

The letter was longer, but the words, suddenly, were no longer English, but some language that even Hermione didn't know. Too many questions and too few answers.

"Harry," Ginny's voice called for his attention, as she pointed towards the forest. "Professor Kaine is heading off into the forest."

"Right, lets go."

Although Kaine's instincts told her she was being followed, Kaine's alcohol-soaked mind could not process this information into anything her brain could understand. In fact, all it got in its fax was a bunch of scribbles that looked like a possible Snape stick figure run over by a truck. So needless to say, she continued her journey through the forest floor. It was most likely some pet of Hagrid's gone wild. She smirked softly at the memory of helping him raise a small litter of werewolf cubs until Razziel came to take them to new families.

It didn't take very long to near the meeting place, it wasn't far from the school, which was convenient depending on how one looked at it. Convenient because it was in the last place that the Ministry and Voldemort would look; inconvenient because she had no excuse to be late.

Walking around a fairly large tree, Kaine began to hear very dull music playing in the distance, and almost instantly groaned.

'Who put Cheshire on guard duty?' Kaine frowned at the thought, as she could see the pink-haired demon sitting on a nearby rock, tapping her feet to the music.

"... What's going on today? Why must it be this way? We're going nowhere and we're still knocking the need to bow down..." Cheshire sang happily as Kaine stopped a good three feet from her.

'Christ I can hear it clearly from here!' Kaine thought as she heard KoRn's "Y'all Want a Single" blasting from Chesshire's headphones. "Will you turn that horrible music down at once Cheshire Cat!"

"Kaine!" Cheshire blinked as she looked at Kaine with turquoise eyes. "You came. Wow. 'EY!"

"You know better then to listen to these confounded devices when you are on watch," Kaine replied as she took the CD player away from Cheshire and out of her reach.

"Who said I was?" Cheshire yelled as she tried to reach for her lost and still playing CD player. "It's Razziel's turn."

"What?" Kaine gave her a deadpanned look that screamed 'Are you for real?'

No sooner had this been stated when a large wolf leaped, snarling, from the shadows of the forest. It was a massive being, nothing like Lupin as a werewolf. No, this beast was pure muscle and strength. Harry and the others were hiding behind a large, fallen tree downwind so the creature hadn't smelled them yet. A strong smell of musk filled the air, which seemed to stimulate their fear. It smelled of power and danger.

However, Kaine regarded the massive black werewolf with much indifference, as it snarled and snapped its powerful jaws at her. It growled angrily at her, its silver eyes never turning away from her, as he rose to his full height of 6 foot ten, and released a blood-curling howl, as he flexed his massive claws that shined in the moon light. Then he launched at Kaine.

"She'll be killed!" Ginny cried as they watched the beast attack their teacher.

"PROFESSOR!" five voice angrily cried out, just as the werewolf glomped Kaine, tackling her to the ground.

The forest fell into an eerie silence as Harry and co looked over to see Draco Malfoy hiding behind a tree on the opposite side, as the werewolf's tail wagged for a moment and licked Kaine's face like some freakishly over-sized dog. Kaine, however, ignored the slobber on her face as she looked at the children.

The sudden sound of bones bending and breaking called her back to reality as a completely naked man replaced the werewolf on her stomach. He was a very lean man, slightly muscular, about 6 foot 2 with long, slick, black hair that just about reached his butt. A set of silver, slightly shocked, eyes looked at Harry and Ron; the girls having turned around so that they didn't see more of his nether region, which they had already gotten an eyeful of.

"Hi there, nice to meet you!" the man greeted with a wave of his hand, the fact that he was sitting on their Defence Against Dark Arts teacher in his birthday suit, eluded him.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE RAZZIEL, PUT ON SOME GOD DAMN CLOTHS!" Kaine barked, as she shoved him off and Cheshire threw him a white trench coat with silver lining.

Harry blinked a few times as Razziel got dressed. He looked very familiar. "Mr. Fenri?"

"Yes?" Razziel asked, as he too recognized Harry. "HEY! You're Harry. Kainie, it's Harry!"

"Umm," Cheshire blinked as she looked at the five intruders. "Kaine, care to explain why they are here?"

A long silence pause filled the air before Kaine sighed.

"This... is awkward," Kaine muttered, as she pulled a tin bottle from inside her cloak. "I need a drink. A real stiff one."

Translations:

()"Haha wa daijyobu desu" Origin is Japanese and roughly means 'Mommy is okay'

AN: The Domaine de Chevalier is an old wine that I found on the internet. I don't drink or smoke because one: I can't hold my liquor and two: I hate the smell of smoke. Also I have been busy with French and Kingdom Hearts 2. I LOVE ROXAS! Hope you all enjoy. Next chapter we finally meet the Dark Order.


	11. Chapter 11: The Dark Order

AN: I have trouble describing old fashioned clothes but imagine medieval clothing for the first part.

Chapter Eleven

The Dark Order

Razziel looked about the room with little interest. The meetings of the Order were always long and boring, adults bickering amongst each other about things that he didn't and 'couldn't' understand according to his father and mother. The large white stone alter stood in the center of the gathering as it always did. He didn't understand the importance of the alter and most of the members were too young to remember its reason; they consisted of all but the vampires court. However, to the five year old Razziel, everyone one there, other then his baby brother Raphael, were as old as the dust on the ground.

His father was Duke Remeus of the Lycantho clan. He was a tall man with slick gray hair due to age, and had a set of cold steel eyes that reminded Razziel of a duelist's blade. He stood a good six foot three, very muscular and seemed to have an air of superiority about him that demanded respect. He was dressed in a white shirt with a dark brown leather vest along with brown leggings and boots.

Razziel's mother was Marianna Christine, a young French woman of noble blood. Unlike her husband, Christine had long raven black hair with natural waves. She had soft golden eyes that shone with innocence and kindness, where Remeus had cold and judging eyes. She wore a long gown made of a dark purple velvet that appeared black and blood red fabric, with a golden string lace up bonnet that made her breasts seem slightly larger than they naturally were. At that time, it wasn't uncommon for married couples to be nearly ten years apart in age.

Razziel looked at Raphael, who was at the moment, content in blowing bubbles with his spit, giggling madly, and clapping his hands. Like most cubs, he had a bit of golden scalp hair that fell just short of the golden eyes he had gotten from his mother. He was dressed in a small light blue baby gown and white leggings with small leather booties.

"Mother..." Razziel began to pull on his mother sleeve to get her attention. He was bored and neither of his parents were giving him any attention. "Mother..."

"Razziel." His father growled his name under his breath. To anyone it would seem as if he was scolding his son, but the nature of werewolves was naturally 'rough love'. He knelt down and picked up Razziel. "Thy mother is holding thy brother. She can not hold thee at the same time."

"Remeus," Christine smiled sweetly as she moved Raphael over so that there was room for her eldest. "Mon chuad chuad. I can handle mon garcon. Who knows how fast he will grow."

"Christine..." Remeus started only to see his wife's sweet smile. "Behave thyself Razziel."

"I shall," Razziel replied as he looked at the other members from his mother's lap. "Why doth we wait mother?"

"Lord Marcus has not yet appeared, Razziel," Christine replied, before she recalled something. "Razziel, thou doth remember Marcus' daughter Faith, yes?"

"Faith and I art friends mother," Razziel stated with a grin. He remembered the sweet fledgling. "Why dost thou..."

"Thou mustn't speak of her," Christine stated. "She hath left this world for the next. It shall harm Lord Marcus greatly if you even whisper her name."

"A... Alright mother." Razziel said. He was a little taken back at her words. Faith had been fine last time he had seen her.

The sudden call of trumpets and echo of scraping chairs told Razziel and his family that Marcus had arrived.

Lord Marcus of the Nosfurala Clan walked into the area with a kind air, that portrayed wisdom and a demanding respect, about him. He had handsome, chestnut brown hair that was tied back with a single black silk ribbon. He wore a white poets shirt and black leggings. His face was sharp and his serpent green eyes were behind a set of golden-rimmed glasses.

Behind him stood his second eldest son Gabriel, a sired fledgling with golden blond hair, brilliant blue eyes, and an almost feminine face that seemed to hold hidden jealousy. He was dressed just as Marcus was. Behind him was the eldest, Mikeal who was a head taller then Gabriel and looked like an exact copy of Marcus; in his arms was a little girl dressed in a light blue dress.

"Who's that mother?" Razziel pointed at the girl in Mikeal's arms.

"That tis Faith's twin sister," Christine smiled as she managed to point at...

"Razziel," Kaine's annoyed voice cut into Razziel's thoughts. "Get the hell off me."

Looking down, he found himself standing on top of Kaine's cloak, which was now threatening to choke her. Lifting his foot he gave an apologetic look and the group continued on their way with Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Draco walking between them. Cheshire was taking up to rear, ensuring that they didn't get any more surprise guests.

He was a little nervous. Kaine was more quiet then usual. She seemed to be internally brooding, something she had done a lot of back at the Ministry.

"Sooo..." Razziel began as he looked at the girls. They glanced up for a moment before they looked the other way with a blush. "What are your names?"

"Her-Hermi-," Hermione tried to choke out her name while hiding her blush.

"Gi- Gi," Ginny seemed to follow her example.

"What's wrong?" Razziel looked at them worriedly. "Look, I didn't mean to terrify you or anything..."

"They aren't scared of you, Razziel," Kaine replied as she took a deep gulp from her flask. She looked at him for a moment, only to meet a blank stare. "Your coat Razziel. Close it."

Razziel looked down, not following. He was dressed, so why did he need to close it? Sighing heavily, Kaine walked up to him and pulled the coat shut.

"For God's sake Razziel! I've seen hookers with more shame than you."

"It isn't his fault Kaine," Cheshire called to her. "Werewolves don't understand modesty."

"He's older then me." Kaine muttered giving the belt a final tug to make sure it was loose enough for the meeting. "Children, listen and listen closely."

The small group gathered close to her. The air of childishness had left Kaine completely. She seemed to have aged about a millennium in less then an hour, and her eyes were no longer the serpent green they normally were. Instead, they were a fierce gold color that reminded Harry of a wolf. Everything about Kaine now demanded respect and her body screamed of a power, both great and terrifying.

"This meeting is unlike anything any of you have attended. Normally, I would have either Razziel or Cheshire or myself escort you both back to the school, but tonight we are all need. You must not wander from our side and do not speak to anyone unless spoken to. The elders are tied to their old ways and they **will** **not** tolerate any disruptions in their pattern. Understood?"

The group nodded quickly, afraid to say anything. Kaine merely turned and continued down the unseen path into a clearing. With a small nudge of a cold nose, the children turned to see Razziel had turned back into his wolf form and was urging them forward.

The clearing was larger than they had thought. It was practically the size of a small football field with a dull white stone alter in its center. Gathered around it were different races in pairs, except for Kaine, who stood at the right of a water nymph, a being that appeared to be made completely of water in the form of a young nude woman.

Across from Kaine stood some of the purest and largest unicorns that Harry had ever seen in his life. The tallest of them was about the same height as the ancient knights' horses, which were monstrous creatures. He, a male from the looks of it, had hairy hooves, a long mane that went past his eyes, and a tail that went past his pasterns.

Next to him was a young woman of seventeen, with white hair that rivaled Dumbledore's. The unicorn nudged her, causing her to turn and look at the newcomers with blood red eyes. She had very pale skin, almost silver in the moonlight, and wore a thin toga that caused Harry to blush, as he could see almost clearly through it. It took him a minute before he realized that she was an albino, a person with a rare genetic disorder where the body fails to produce enough pigment in the skin, eyes, and hair, if any at all.

To the right of them was a strange creature. It appeared to be half human and half serpent. This time Harry knew it was a male, as the creature had a bare flat chest. He had the torso of a man, a very lean one at that, with long black hair that came to where his human torso ended. His ears were slightly pointed like Razziel's and behind them were two, long, up-curving, spiral horns like those of a bull, and a pair of green feathers tied to the right horn. Blood red eyes regarded them coldly, with distaste, and in the pale moonlight, Harry could see two black tattoo lines that ran from beneath his eyes and disappeared under his chin. His serpent body was made of emerald green scales and a black belly that shone in the pale light and showed the pure power of it, with a scarlet lion cloth that covered his lower region and was held up by a gold plated belt. He also wore black dragon hide fingerless arm socks, forearm bands, and a choker.

The human next to him was a young boy that was only ten years old. He had curly brown hair that made him look sweet and innocent. Like the snake person next to him, he too had a black choker on, but instead was dressed in wizard robes along with a black T-shirt that had a red spiral on it, and a pair of baggy jeans. Kind blue eyes met Harry's green for a moment, and the boy silently greeted Harry with a small wave.

Next to them were two tall and proud elves. These were the easiest for Harry to recognize as their long pointed ears gave them away. They weren't house elves, but part of the race of wood elves. The older of the two was a man with long black hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a forest green tunic and brown leggings with deer skin boots. A heavy black belt held a large sword by his side. The other was a boy that was the elder's mirror image, except that he had a silver bow rather than a sword.

On the left of the unicorns were two centaurs. They both appeared to be about the same age, one of them had a blue almost black coat with a few speckles of white on his rear and short black hair with brown eyes; the other was a palomino with white socks on his hind legs, and a white star-like mark above his right fore hoof. He had slightly longer hair than his friend, that was held back in a pony tail, which suited the blond perfectly with his lively blue eyes.

Next to them was a female faun resting on the ground. Harry's breath caught in his throat. It was rare to see a female faun, as they were highly shy beings that were nearly hunted to extinction, and for good reason. They possessed hooves and small horns on their foreheads made of pure gold. Her skin was almost golden despite the dim lighting, and her long doe-like legs were curled under her as she sat happily braiding the scarlet hair of her young companion, a little girl. The girl couldn't have been more then five years old, dressed an a heavy coat and thick dress. She had large brown eyes that shone with happiness and joy as the moths danced before her.

There was a small empty spot next to them, but it was quickly filled by a tall woman with a black lizard's tail and dragon wings, and a man of twenty, who was dressed in a black leather vest with buckles and pants to match. The female hovered over the ground and pulled her companion into a hot and passionate kiss.

Next to them rested the water nymph, who giggled sweetly, and the thirteen-year-old girl with the former sighed in annoyance. Clearly, this must have been common because she seemed used to the show of affection. However the attention soon turned to Harry and his friends as Kaine walked calmly to the stone, shaped like a chair, and sat down.

Harry watched Kaine closely. Despite her worn robe, she looked like a ruler. An almost life-like picture of Vlad Tepes sitting upon his throne ready to deal out punishments. Her face held a mask of cold malice, a sort of sadistic cruelty, as the snake person gave a short stiff bow. Kaine's eyes were a bright gold and almost feral.

"Well this is a moment to mark in blood," the man sneered. It was clear that he held a strong dislike towards Kaine but held her in his deepest respect. "It is rare that the Executioner appears twice with only one calling."

"I must agree with Maya," the fawn replied, as she hugged the toddler closer to her when the nymph tried to lure her over. "It is indeed unusual for you to appear at all at these callings. Why is this so?"

"The matters of these meeting affect my kind's... trustworthiness," Kaine replied, her voice neutral but cold. A thick British accent seemed to have snuck its way into her voice. "I am only here due to honor and duty of my kind. Nothing more."

"And them?" Maya, the snake man, made a gesture towards Ginny and Hermione. "These human children... why are they here?"

"A minor miscalculation," Kaine replied with a silent dismiss of the children's presence.

"How amusing," the winged woman replied. All the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood up at the

woman's high pitched laughter. It was alluring, but icy in feeling at the same time. "Imagine. The great and all powerful Kaine, letting her guard down towards a set of mortal children. Some..."

"As I recall, succubus," Kaine drawled. "I was not the one who got myself bound by force to a mortal. A Muggle, no less."

"You!" the succubus hissed, but Razziel stepped between them.

"Calm yourself or leave Nastacia," he growled in wolf form, fangs barred, and a snarl deep in his throat. "Or I will make you."

"How fitting," Nastacia hissed as the male embraced her from behind and rested his hands on her breast and lower stomach area. "A dog protecting his master. Your kind has always been enslaved to them."

"We sever the Nosfurala clan because of their honor towards us." Razziel snarled. Apparently she had hit a nerve, hard.

"Enough!" Kaine barked. "Razziel, she will not listen and you can not make her. Now let us deal with the matters at hand."

"Lord Dracus has not appeared yet my lady," the albino girl spoke. "Moondancer believes he is running late, due the changing of the moon."

"We agree," the blond centaur replied, as he stamped the ground with his left fore hoof. "There has been a blood ring about the moon for the last three nights."

"Maya?" the boy, who had waved at Harry, placed his hand on Maya's shoulder. "What are they talking about?"

"The creatures of the forest, who speak to nature, Daniel. You need not worry," Maya replied in a more soothing tone as he hugged the boy lightly. "Why do you not go speak with the mortals Kaine has brought with her?"

Kaine took another quiet drink from the black bottle hidden in her cloak. She glanced at Harry and the others as Daniel walked over to them; joined by Dawn, the little girl with the fawn called Spring; and Asspa, the speaker for Moondancer. This would be a problem. Newcomers don't just appear in the Dark Order and then leave. The only real way to leave the order was when death claimed a person, and the agents of death were still over-booked since the last time Kaine had spoken with one of them.

"Hey there." Daniel held out his hand as Dawn and Asspa joined him, "I'm Daniel, representative of the Naga court; Dawn, here, is a trainee for the fawn race; and this is..."

"I am called Asspa," the girl gave a small bow, her blood red eyes looking at them with a judging gaze. "I am the ambassador of the Unicorn Council."

"Ambassador?" Hermione asked the albino girl.

"The unicorns are incapable of human speech," Asspa replied. "So it is my purpose to translate for them."

"What kind of a name is Asspa?" Draco asked. Harry jumped at his voice, having forgotten he was there.

"The kind that was given to me by Moondancer," Asspa replied with a cold tone. "It is the vampirism for 'White Child'."

"Asspa grew up with Moondancer's herd," Daniel answered the unspoken question. "It's why she dresses like that. Both Lycans and other wood creatures lack an understanding of clothing."

"Lycans?" Ron asked only to get a huff of annoyance from Hermione. "What?"

"Lycans, Ron," Hermione sighed irritably at his obvious confusion. "Ron, we know one. Professor Lupin."

"But he's a werewolf!" Ron exclaimed.

"Weasley, even I know that 'Lycan' is a general term for werewolves," Draco drawled. As much as it pained Harry to admit it, he had to agree that Ron had walked into that one.

"Awre wu nu membures? (Are you new members)," Dawn asked, giving Ginny's robe a small tug. In an instant, she popped her thumb into her mouth and looked sweetly at the group.

"Member?" Ginny asked, looking at Daniel

"Yes," Kaine's voice called their attention. "It seems that the fact that you are here gives us a problem. You have seen and learned of our secrets, and as a result, your choices are these. Serve the Dark Order until your time ceases to be or take its secrets with you to an early grave."

There was an eerie silence.

"Did she just threaten to kill us?" Ron whispered to Harry.

"She can't kill us, right?" Draco asked Hermione, who shrugged. The air held no room for jokes, only seriousness. "I mean, people would notice."

"You are beyond the laws of man and wizard alike," a new voice barked. Ginny screamed and hid behind Harry as a large black dragon with a midnight-purple belly landed next to them. "The Dark Order is far older than the likes of the Ministry of Magic, and even more powerful. Twas we who breathed life into the Ministry, itself."

"Powerful?" Draco asked. He regarded the dragon carefully, if not a little nervously.

"We have been around since long before your time," the fawn replied as she rose to her feet. "Since the time of the plague, the time of darkness and despair."

"What plague?" Ginny asked. "You don't mean the black plague!"

"What other plagues have there been that you mortals have written into your history?" Nastacia answered, the sexually playful nature was now gone from her persona. "The order was born from chaos, just as the Ministry was."

"It's the reason why we call this the _Dark_ Order," Razziel cut in. "It was built during the dark times."

"So it was," Kaine muttered, before turning towards the dragon. "Lord Dracus, it has been a long time."

"Indeed Kaine, so it has," Dracus replied. He bowed his large head in respect just as she bowed her own. "I am pleased to see that you have come to deal with this grave matter, although I did not know you also wished to bring humans into the order as well."

"It was not intentional," Kaine answered curtly. "Nevertheless, is it not time that they too have ambassadors for the Order? Although it was my post, I no longer hold ties with the Ministry as I once did..."

"How true," Nastacia laughed cruelly. "You were once their pet. You and the Lycan..."

"Nastacia," Dracus growled, blood red eyes with serpent pupils looked at her, like a father would to a disobedient child. "You will not refer to Lady Kaine or Prince Jeile in that manner again."

"Prince?" Hermione asked as she glanced at Razziel, while Nastacia huffed in annoyance. "He's a prince?"

"Yup," Cheshire had now joined them, having been bored by the 'adults'. "Prince Astale 'el Daemonia Eucharista Jeile."

"What?" the group asked, which only served to draw attention from the others.

Dawn merely laughed as the fawn picked her up again. "Dey ware faunny. I wik wem. (They are funny. I like them)."

"That's his name," Cheshire stated, as if it were a world- known fact. "Astale 'el Daemonia Eucharista Jeile!"

"Where the bloody hell do you get 'Razziel' then?" Ron barked.

"It was shorter," Razziel replied with a stupid grin on his face. "And it was easier to say..."

"Especially when you were in trouble." Kaine grinned as she added that.

"Kainie!" Razziel whined, obviously embarrassed with her statement.

"Nevertheless, it's settled," Kaine stated, as she walked up to the group of Hogwarts students, while Cheshire, Asspa, and Daniel returned to their previous spots. She stopped in front of them before making a gesture towards the order members. "Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ronald and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger… welcome to the Dark Order."

Translations

Mon chuad chuad Origin is French and means 'my darling' however it really means my cabbage cabbage.

mon garcon Origin is French and means 'my boy' it's not spelled right by I don't know if with show the right letter.

Astale 'el Daemonia Eucharista Jeile I'm not sure what it means but I think it's either French or Latin. I got the name from a manga (Japanese comic) called Meri Peru or something like that.

AN:

The picture of the naga is thanks to Snapesnogger at Here is the picture www . Deviantart. Com / deviation / 31511416 /. No the character is not mine, he is 100 Snapesnogger's but I love the picture sooo much I just had to use his description. Hope they are mad at me for it. I just love their art tooo much.

The name Moondancer comes from the series "My Little Pony" which was the only girl show I watched as a kid. Otherwise, I grew up on an all boy street with my sister and I watched GI Joes, Castle, Dino, Space Cats, Pirates of the Black Sea, Mario Brothers, Batman, Spiderman, X-men, and other boy shows whose names escape me.


	12. Chapter 12: Parents

**Chapter Twelve**

Parents

The sky was cloudless as they headed back towards the castle. Harry had never noticed that before, but then again, he never noticed a lot of things until he stopped to look long enough. The stars seemed to twinkle brightly, except for Mars of course, which glowed a dim red. He glanced over at Ginny whom, like the others, was still digesting all the info they had gotten tonight.

It was hard to understand most of it; none of the members had back-tracked about the previous meetings, so all they understood was that some creatures called Furies were attacking humans, and that it was a great concern for Kaine. They did, however, understand that Harry was now Kaine's trainee; Ron and Hermione represented the 'human breed,' as they had been dubbed; Ginny was placed with a creature that looked a lot like an angel; and Lord Dracus had taken Draco to his side.

HURK!

The sudden sound of vomit tore everyone from his or her thoughts, only to see Kaine leaning over a bush.

"God damn. HURK," Kaine muttered as she emptied her stomach. "I hate these meetings..."

"Professor?" Ron asked, looking nervously at Kaine's back. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley," Kaine answered as she rested against a tree.

She looked over-worked, ill, and tired as she wiped the vomit from her lips, her face painted in disgust from both the smell and taste.

"What is it with vomit and it needing company? It's like bloody sneezing..." Kaine thought out loud.

"Professor," Draco asked; he had been quiet most of the night, but something was bugging him. "Are you drunk?"

'WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT?' Harry thought, as they all looked at Draco, as if he were mad.

"As a matter of fact, yes, Mr. Malfoy," Kaine replied with a soft smile. The alcohol was being to wane from her blood system and her mind was beginning to think for itself again. "It's necessary for me to drink before the meetings..."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked only to see Kaine's face pale.

'Maybe I'm not that sober,' Kaine thought before straightening up. "Let's get the castle, shall we?"

Once they had entered the castle, Kaine signaled for all of them to be silent. It was early in the morning, but thankfully the weekend, so none of them would need to get up early; however, Kaine still couldn't cover for all of them being out past hours. They snuck down the hall until they heard Filch's voice nearing them.

"Shit!" Kaine hissed as she turned to all of them. "Hide!"

Within seconds, Ron and Hermione raced behind the long curtains and covered themselves. Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her behind a covered table to hide, while Kaine yanked Harry into a nearby broom closet. No sooner had the door clicked shut, Kaine felt a sense of foreboding in her gut and a slight case of deja vu.

"This seems familiar somehow," Kaine muttered under her breath.

"What did you say...?" Harry asked, only to have Kaine turn and slam her hand over his mouth as Filch's voice got louder.

However, no sooner had Kaine done that, than her foot snagged in a robe and sent her crashing into Harry.

"Who's there!" Filch yelled. Everyone's hearts stopped. "Oh Professor Snape. What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I had trouble sleeping and decided on a walk."

'Oh, yeah,' Kaine thought as her eyes locked on the door. 'Fourth year, wasn't it?'

_Kaine forced the heavy doors open as the wind whipped hair into her face. Her breath was heavy and ragged, and once the door was closed, she gently nursed her injured arm. The target had been prepared for her this time, something she wasn't ready for. Her left arm was dislocated at the shoulder and a long gash ran up it. The mini skirt she was wearing had a good, large tear in it, which made it hang lop-sided on her hips, and revealed a good part of her undergarments. Several places on the white school blouse had been ripped off, and a good deal of blood covered the front of it. The back was worse, though, her skin still raw from the silver whip. Even if it couldn't kill her, the residue was enough to prevent healing until she could wash it off._

"_If I can get to the Gryffindor common room without being seen..." Kaine muttered._

_Her steps were sluggish and unstable, due to a bad sprain in her ankle, caused by the lace-up thigh-high boots she was wearing. She had never broken in the leather, so it was still stiff. It wasn't long before she collapsed in the hallway with a small cry of pain. Her will and strength to work for the Ministry was wearing thin._

_Fifty years._

_Fifty, thankless and ungodly, years she had been working for the Ministry to get the Sinner's Cross, and still, that bastard of a Minister of Magic – Marvello Brown – wouldn't give her, or the others, a break. As far as he was concerned, they were tools—expendable assets to be sent to do all the dirty work that the Aurors couldn't. He was bleeding her dry, looking for an excuse to send for Moody to exterminate her._

"_Sonna bitch," Kaine muttered as she watched the crimson liquid pool onto the floor and soak into the carpet. "This is gonna be impossible to explain to the Headmaster."_

"_Kaine?"_

"_Fuck!" Kaine swore. Normally she would not swear, as Marcus was always close and more the ready to 'correct' any foul language, but working with Seth, Cheshire, Razziel, and the Aurors had its costs. 'Not now. Don't let him see...'_

"_Kaine! Bloody hell, what happened to you?" Severus Prince-Snape, a Slytherin twice her superior in school years, rushed to her side with wide eyes._

_'God damn it!' Kaine growled in her head. "It's nothing."_

"_Nothing!" Snape gaped at her. It wasn't a secret that he respected her, and she him, as well. They studied and spoke together whenever Potter and his goons weren't pestering her or bullying him. "The bruise last week was nothing, but you're bloody bleeding on the floor."_

"_I think 'gushing blood' would be more fitting," Kaine remarked sarcastically. She wasn't much for humor, but who said she needed to be._

"_This is serious Kaine," Severus muttered as he pulled her to unsteady feet by her good arm. However, Kaine crouched for a second and placed her arm between her legs. "What are you doing?"_

"_Give me a second, Susan," Kaine answered, using the new pet name she had given him._

_It wasn't out of cruelty that she called him that, she did it to everyone who hadn't won her respect, which was just about everyone at the school. With a hard yank and a sickeningly deep pop, Kaine reset her arm and hissed out her pain._

"_I can't believe you just did that," Severus replied as he led her towards the Hospital Wing. "Madam Hostly can help you..."_

"_I'd rather go to my dorm..." Kaine replied with a shallow smile. "I don't like doctors."_

"_She's a nurse."_

"_Nurse, doctor, same thing," Kaine muttered when they heard voice down the hall. "Someone's coming."_

"_What do we do?" Snape whispered back._

"_Hide," Kaine pointed towards a nearby door. "In there."_

"_The broom closet?"_

"_Just go!" Kaine pushed Severus in and closed the door._

"_Kaine, I don't..." Severus stated, as he became nervous. It wasn't everyday that your school crush hid with you in a closet; especially one with so little space._

"_SHHH!" Kaine clasped her hand over his mouth, only to get a harsh reminder from her ankle that it was sprained. "AH!"_

_If anyone had been leaving the hallway, they sure as hell were going to come back to check it out. As Kaine fell onto Snape, they both knocked over several brooms, a few tin buckets, and unhinged the shelf filled with tin and copper cans of cleaning solution; resulting in a cacophony of noise. An eerie silence spread through the air._

_'Maybe no one heard that...' Kaine thought, only to have the closet door swing open._

"What the bloody hell…" 

_James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew stood in the doorway with looks of horror and disbelief on their faces. Kaine was lying on top of Snape, whose arm was around her waist and the other resting on her rear, the skirt having folded itself high on her back. Their faces inches apart, and Kaine's hair was overly mussed from the wind – not that they knew that. Her blouse was also slightly open and Snape's clothing looked very ruffled. It all equaled only one thing in their minds._

_Sirius let out a scream that sounded close to a sonic boom._

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OUR KAINIE!" James cried out, as he yanked Kaine off Severus and glared at him. Kaine screamed out in pain as his hand accidentally grasped the gash. "What the... HOLY FUCK! Kaine what happened to you?"_

"_What did you do to her, Snape!" Lupin growled. He was normally against violence, but he had looked out for Kaine since she first came to Hogwarts, even if she didn't want him to._

"_Nothing!" Kaine gasped as her nursed the pain away. "Remus, he didn't do anything. I... I slipped."_

_That... had to be the **worst** crappy lie she had ever told them, but they didn't get a chance to press her for an answer, because Professor Slughorn busted them all for being out of their dorms in the middle of the night._

A sudden click and turning of the knob called Kaine back from her reminiscence. The door opened and a very deadpan and neutral-faced Potions Master stood before them, with the others behind him. Kaine noticed that Filch wasn't present, meaning, Snape had gotten rid of him but had found the others.

"This is soo not what it looks like," Kaine stated as the dying adrenaline rush that came from worrying about being found by Filch, killed any buzz she might have had.

"I know..." Snape muttered as he rubbed the brim of his nose. "I was there once too, remember? Everyone, just go back to your rooms. It's too damn early to be wreaking havoc."

The next morning, Kaine didn't even make it to the staff table. In fact, unlike the children who somehow found the strength to pull themselves to their tables, Kaine was instantly and successfully stopped at the doors to the great hall. She pushed and pushed with all the strength and energy she had in her body, only to find the doors refusing to budge an inch. In the end, Kaine leaned against the door and panted.

"Bloody … doors... (Gasp)," Kaine muttered between breaths as Snape stopped next to her. "Stupid (gasp) bloody … castle..."

'Just like back in the day...' Snape thought as he looked at her. 'Except I'm not holding a crap load of books anymore...'

"Not (gasp) a bloody (gasp) word, Susan," Kaine growled as she glared as his amused face. "Not a single (pant) one..."

"You don't remember, do you?" Snape stated happily as Kaine gave him a bewildered look. "You have to pull the doors, not push."

'Smart ass...' Kaine muttered in her head as Snape led her into the hall. Once seated Kaine numbly poked at the food before taking a bite. "This tastes disgusting..."

"It should," Snape stated bluntly.

"Professor Nighttrod?" Professor Sinistra asked from down the table.

"Yath?" Kaine replied with a stuffed mouth. Normally, her up-bringing kept her from speaking with her mouth full, but today she was too tired to give a damn.

"Why are you eating your napkin?" she asked as all eyes fell on Kaine.

"Wha'?" Kaine blinked and her eyes focused on the moist piece of bright orange cloth that was in her mouth. 'I hate my life...'

"Might I suggest Mini-Wheats, _Professor Nighttrod_?" Snape asked with a sarcastic tone, which told Kaine that he was biting back a laugh. He held in front of her a bowl of the crunchy cereal. "If you really think you need more fiber in your diet."

"If it wasn't a health code violation, Susan," Kaine growled as she snatched the bowl from him, trying to give him the best drop-dead-you-prick glare she could give in her sleepy state. "I would bite your nose off."

"It's too damn early," Kaine growled, only to get rapped hard on the head by Albus. "Oww!"

"Language, Ms. Kaine," he chided.

"Eat me, Albus," Kaine muttered under her breath so he wouldn't hear. "Eat my soul."

"He would get food poisoning if he did," Snape joked back. Kaine shot him an ugly look and was about to say something when Albus stood up. "Shhh!"

"If I may have your attention students," Albus called as the hall fell thankfully silent, much to Kaine's hangover's pleasure. "As you all know, the end of October is merely a week away, and with it comes our age-long tradition of the Pupil-Teacher Banquet."

'Oh fuck no...' Kaine and Snape thought in unison. Neither of them had ever liked that event. Snape, mainly because parents would corner him and ask personal questions about their children, and Kaine had had a traumatic experience, thanks to James, Sirius, and Mikeal. 'This can't be good...'

"...So we have sent invitations informing your parents and guardians that they may come to meet your teachers, see the classrooms, and dormitories..."

"I hate my life," Kaine muttered as her head–not as quietly–collided with the hard table, sending the bowl of Mini-Wheats flipping on top of her head. "Susan, honey?"

"Yes?" Snape rose an eyebrow at the 'honey' comment.

"Can you be a dear and shoot me with liquid silver?" Kaine muttered into the table.

"If I have to suffer through this, so do you."

'Bastard!' Kaine thought angrily, but remained unmoving.

Harry once again found himself in that strange dream he had had a few weeks ago. It was amazing how much could happen in less three months.

_It was raining hard that night and lightning cut across the sky. In the dimming of the flash he could just make out a symbol in the sky; he wasn't sure what it was, but it was moving and bright green._

_Harry was slowly beginning to freeze as an ominous gust of wind whipped around him, making the rain hit him hard in his face. He was wrapped in something, a blanket most likely, because it had absorbed as much water as possible and now clung to him, sucking the warmth from his body. He felt so alone, so abandoned, as the silence continued to the point where it was ringing in his ears._

_It hurt listening to it and he began to cry out._

_Splish Splash Splish Splish Splash Splish Splish Splash Splish_

_He could hear footsteps running through the rain and the heavy splashing echoed in spite of the storm._

_'Help me,' Harry cried, but only wails left his mouth. 'Help me.'_

"_LILY! JAMES!" a desperate voice cried out. It sounded so familiar but he couldn't place a face to it. "LILY! JAMES! ARE YOU THERE! LILY!"_

_'Help me please,' Harry tried harder to call out, but instead, water began to run down his throat and into his lungs, making him cough. 'I'm going to drown! Please help me!'_

"_LILY!" the voice was becoming more frantic, and the steps seemed louder and closer. "JAMES! ANSWER ME! LILY! JAMES!"_

_Splish Splash Splish Splash Splish Splish Splash Splish Splash Splish Splish Splash Splish Splash Splish_

_The keeper of the footsteps was yelling into the night, her voice hoarse._

"_LILY! JAMES!" she cried as loud as she could. "LIL-"_

_Then the footsteps stopped and were followed by a louder splash, signifying that she had tripped._

"_No," her voice was only a whisper, but it held sorrow and self-hate. "God please no..."_

_Suddenly a dark, fuzzy figure stood over him, shielding him from the rain. Strong hands gently picked him up and held him close, giving him warmth. Through the blur of rain, Harry could make out messy black hair hidden under a cloak._

"_It's alright Harry," a gruff voice soothed, but it held pent up pain. "It's alright. I'm here for you, shh, it'll be fine."_

_'Sirius?' Harry thought, as he instantly recognized the voice._

_Suddenly the steps returned, more rushed than before. Sirius stiffened and drew out his wand but the other must have beat him to it, because the same voice screamed through the air._

"_LET HIM GO!"_

"Harry," Harry jolted awake with Kaine's hand on his shoulder. She had looked better than she was at the moment, but all-in-all she looked concerned. "Are you alright? You don't look too well ..."

"Yeah," Harry gasped as he tried to calm his heart. "Just a... just a dream. That's all."

"Has it got anything to do with that Parent-Teacher thingy?" Kaine asked, as she took the seat next to Harry and spun it around so she could use the back as a head rest. "Anything you wish to talk about?"

If Harry hadn't known better, he would have said that he was hanging out with a classmate in the library. Kaine looked so much younger sitting in front of him; it was only her eyes that gave her away. The same old, ancient sapphire eyes that looked tiredly at him. Other than that, he had to fight the urge to push the chair backwards and see what would happen.

"I've been having this dream lately..." Harry started, thinking about how he should word it.

"Please don't say 'is this for real or not'," Kaine cut quickly.

"What?"

"Kingdom Hearts joke," she smiled sweetly. "Never mind, as you were saying..."

"In this dream... I can't see much but it's raining," Harry started, trying hard to recall the dream. "And I'm trapped or something. And there are these footsteps running in the rain and some woman calling out for my parents... this sounds pretty stupid doesn't Professor? Professor?"

Kaine looked wanly at Harry, her body ridged as if she had been reminded of something, before she slipped on her 'happy' mask again.

"Maybe you ate something bad," she suggested. "Bad food causes weird dreams. I should know, your father got me good a few times..."

"Maybe..." Harry wasn't quite sure whether Kaine was assuring him, or herself, with that statement. "Wait! You knew my dad?"

"Of course," Kaine smiled with a soft grin on her face. "In fact, he and his three goons seemed to have this unexplainable need to..."

"Befriend you?" Harry offered. It was rare for him to hear anything about his father, other than that he looked similar to him.

Kaine grinned at Harry's shocked face. "I'll tell you some other time Harry. Another time."

The week more or less disappeared faster than Harry could under his invisibility cloak. Kaine had seemed fairly calm through the whole ordeal, minus the few arguments between Professor McGonagall and Kaine about her wearing a gown or something formal.

In the end, Kaine won the battle for her clothing, using the excuse that she had no idea what her size was and that the clothing had sentimental value; however she didn't escape from helping set up for the banquet and greeting the parents as they arrived.

As Harry turned the corner, he spotted Kaine waving her wand lazily to direct a decoration to hang on the left wall, as Kuro played with an orange left behind from lunch. Kaine seemed rather peeved about the whole ordeal, not that Harry was any happier. He, after all, didn't have any family that would come and see him. The Dursleys would never show up, unless the Order of the Phoenix forced them to.

"Harry?" a voice asked.

He jumped at the voice, only to find that Ginny and Cho were next to him. Ginny was bending down a little, in order to look Harry in the face with a concerned expression on her face; Cho just looked at him.

"Oh, hi Ginny," Harry smiled and then nodded at Cho. "Cho. How are you guys?"

"Fine," Cho replied as she looked away from Harry. Things had gotten awkward between them ever since their disastrous date. "You?"

"Just great," Harry replied, as Ginny looked at him more closely. "You, Ginny? Both of your parents are coming right?"

"Ah ha," Ginny nodded as she straightened up. She waved a quick goodbye to Cho who continued on her way, before looking nervously at him. "Errr, Harry? Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah," Harry smiled sweetly at Ginny. "Why?"

"Because you... well..." Ginny started, as she thought about how to word her question. "Harry? You DO know that mum and dad consider you family, right?"

"Of course," Harry smiled when Ginny's name was called from down the hall. "See you Ginny."

"Bye Harry," Ginny yelled as she ran off, although she wasn't convinced.

"Harry?" a voice gently asked behind him. Turning, he saw Kaine had moved behind him. "Care to join me in my office?"

"Alright," Harry agreed as he followed her, with Kuro trailing behind them. "Errrr... Professor?"

"Yes?" Kaine replied as she turned the corner.

"When I first met you, you said Kuro wasn't a normal dog..." Harry started. Thinking about it, hadn't she said he was a demon wolf?

"When did I say that?" Kaine stopped in a hallway and looked around.

"At the Leaky Cauldron..." Harry stated only to see her blank expression. "You... honestly don't remember do you?"

"Well you see...I... that is..." Kaine seemed to scramble for an explanation. "I was... no. No, I do not."

"Well, what did you mean?" Harry asked as Kuro pressed his nose into Harry's hand. "Hi boy..."

"He touched you," Kaine stated in a surprised voice. "He can see you?"

"Of course he can," Harry replied. He didn't see the point. "He's got eyes..."

"Harry, Kuro is blind," Kaine replied. "His kind aren't born with the ability to see. Most of them never see anything their whole lives."

"What is he then..." Harry blinked. How could the dog see and be blind at the same time?

"Arcbus lupus," Kaine replied as she thumped her leg to call Kuro over. "It's Latin for dark wolf."

"Oh..." Harry was still lost over it, but pushed it aside when he noticed Kaine looking about the hallway again. "Professor..."

"Yes Harry?" Kaine answered as she continued the scan the hallway.

"Aren't we going to go to your office?" Harry watched her stiffen. "Don't tell me that you're..."

"Don't say it, I am not..." Kaine warned as she looked at him. No sooner had she said that than the Bloody Baron appeared. "Oh, hi Paul."

"Greetings, Lady Nosfurala," The Baron stated, as he gave a deep bow. Harry blinked as he stared at the ghost. That was the first time the man had said anything. "Pray tell, my lady. Art thou lost within the halls of this cas..."

"For the last time!" Kaine yelled. "I'M NOT LOST!"

Kaine's office was different from the other professors' offices that Harry had seen. Not that he had seen many, but McGonagall's had been very old fashioned and Snape's... well let's say that it gave Harry chills just thinking about it. Kaine's was much more... homely-like.

Instead of just a desk and chair, there were two couches set up in front of a fireplace as well. Her desk resided facing the window and her chair was large and very comfortable-looking. The couches were of a deep, dark colored oak with green cushioning, and a matching coffee table was between them. Near the fireplace was a large dog's pillow with a few chew toys laying near it. As Harry stepped into the room, Kuro ran past him and jumped onto the nearest couch. He barked happily as Kaine made a gesture for Harry to sit down.

"Care for anything Harry?" Kaine asked. "Scotch? Whiskey? Snaps?"

"Professor, I'm underage..." Harry started but Kaine brushed him off.

"If you're old enough to save the Wizarding world and join the Order, you're old enough to drink," she stated, as she watched him with even eyes. Harry just shook his head. "Alright, how about some pop instead?"

"That would be nice," Harry replied as Kaine left the room.

Looking at her walls, Harry found them covered with photos and pictures. The pictures were drawn in charcoal and crayons. It was clear that some of them were done by one child, a little girl, and the others by, what Harry guessed to be, a small boy. Stepping closer, he could make out a small child dressed continuously in black, with a mop of black hair that covered most of his face and red eyes. It almost reminded Harry of the girl Samara, from the Japanese horror movie "The Ring". The background was always different, showing a figure dressed in a light brown dress and red hair, either holding him or playing with him; one even showed her helping him in a dark, cold-looking room.

"Admiring the art?" Kaine asked behind him. Harry turned and saw Kaine had placed the glasses on the table and gestured for him to join her.

"Yeah, who made them?" Harry asked, as he sipped the soda in front of him.

"Children I've met in my time..." Kaine replied as she pet Kuro. She fell silent for a moment, before sighing. "Harry, you do realize that the path you have chosen is a twisted and long one; do you not?"

"Professor?" Harry blinked, unsure as to what she was referring to. "Oh, you mean the Order. I..."

"People die working for them," Kaine looked at him with dead eyes. She was serious. "The Dark Order is a last line defense. It owns you until it deems your services useless, and then they toss you aside like a rag doll. It does not care for your thoughts, hopes, dreams, or morals."

"I..." Harry was taken aback. For something that Kaine worked for, she apparently held no fond memories of it.

"If they deem it necessary, they will order you to kill someone close to you," Kaine sighed as she leaned back in her seat. "In a cruel twist of irony, they are much like that of your Ministry. Working for either will turn you cold and cruel. They both force you to cover your hands with blood..."

A long silence fell between the two. Harry noticed that Kaine's eyes looked glazed and distant, like she was no longer with him. In the distance he could hear music playing softly.

_2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,  
'Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?  
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season.'  
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes  
Like they have any right at all to criticize,  
Hypocrites. You're all here for the very same reason._

' Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable  
and life's like an hourglass, glued to the table,  
No one can find the rewind button, girl.  
So cradle your head in your hands,  
and breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe. 

"Harry," Kaine tore Harry from the music. "You do realize that just because you are the boy who lived... the Order will use you worse than the Ministry would?"

"I kind of guessed that..." Harry sighed, as Kaine once again placed her hand deep into Kuro's fur. "Professor, how did you get involved with the Order?"

"Marcus," Kaine replied a little stiffly. "Marcus use to bring me as a child and I came to take his place when he or Mikeal could not appear for their summons. That was until I worked for the Ministry. Then, I represented the humans as well, in the Order."

Harry wanted to find out more about her work in the Ministry, but from the look on her face, it seemed to be a touchy subject for her. He turned his attention towards the music once again.

_May he turn 21 on the base at Fort Bliss.  
' Just today,' he said down to the flask in his fist,  
'Ain't been sober, since maybe October of last year.'  
Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,  
but, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,  
wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it._

Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
and life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.  
No one can find the rewind button, boys,  
so cradle your head in your hands,  
and breathe... just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe 

"I swore to your parents you know..." Kaine suddenly started again, as she looked over at one of the many photographs. "I knew them some good years ago. They were... unique, but kind. I promised them that if I could I would never allow you to come to any danger." She suddenly scoffed at the thought. "Some guardian I am."

"What were they like?" Harry asked, hoping to change the mood. Kaine blinked, taken aback by his question. "My parents... what were they like?"

"They were kind, forgiving..." Kaine smiled softly as a memory returned to her. "They were very understanding of my situation. Your father and his friends did everything in their power to..."

"To befriend you?" Kaine snorted. "Make you feel welcomed?"

"Annoy the shit out of me," Kaine replied bluntly. "James and his toadies did everything in their power to make my years at Hogwarts more then a living hell." She suddenly looked grim, covering her ears as if she was reliving some traumatic memory. "The prank wars, the tricks, the being stuffed into a trunk after they hit me with an oar..."

'My dad did what?' Harry thought, only to see Kaine smile.

"They taught me to trust," Kaine said as she took a photo from the wall. "You know, this was taken the day you were born."

She passed him the photo. In it, Harry saw his mother resting in bed, as Sirius laughed at a helpless-looking Kaine, who was holding a baby-version of him. She hadn't changed much over the years; in fact she was still the same young-looking woman in the picture. Remus was making a gesture for Kaine to hand him a screaming Infant-Harry.

"The first thing you did when I held you, was vomit on me," Kaine stated gleefully at Harry's expense.

"Why am I crying in the photo?" Harry asked.

"I yelled," Kaine blushed. "You apparently didn't like that."

"Oh..." Harry fell silent. "Did they... were they..."

"They were good people Harry," Kaine replied as she took the photo back and placed it on the wall. "They didn't deserve what happened to them. Things happen Harry; there is nothing we can do about it. They loved you dearly..."

_There's a light at each end of this tunnel,  
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out.  
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again,  
If you only try turning around._

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song  
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,  
Threatening the life it belongs to  
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd.  
' Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud,  
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to.

"None of us can really chose our endings, nor what life will throw at us. We can place the outcome in our favor, but it is as the song says," Kaine replied before singing along to the melody in the background.

_But you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable,  
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table.  
No one can find the rewind button now,  
Sing it if you understand.  
And breathe, just breathe,  
woah breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe,  
Oh breathe, just breathe._

Harry fell silent as his professor finished her singing and Kaine returned to petting Kuro in silence. It continued for another five minutes, where each of them fell into deep thought.

"Harry, don't worry about no one coming on your behalf," Kaine spoke suddenly. "Your family is not something bound by blood, nor is a home where said family lives. They are the ones who make you feel at peace and wanted; and home is where the warmth lies."

Harry blinked as he thought over her words. It sounded as if she was reciting something and speaking about past experience, while at the same time, it gave Harry a modicum of peace in his heart.

Night soon fell and the conversation between Kaine and Harry had fallen into a low murmur in the back of Harry's mind. More pressing matters were at hand like getting ready for the arrival of the parents. It wasn't that he needed to impress anyone; it was just that he didn't want Malfoy to pick on him anymore than usual.

It was with that thought that Harry stopped fixing his clothing and looked blankly in the mirror. Was Draco really so bad? The night of the meeting, he wasn't the normal, arrogant git that he usually carried himself to be. In fact, he seemed the opposite of himself.

"Harry!" Ron yelled from the door, which was a bit redundant, as Harry was only a foot from it. "They're here!"

The Great Hall was covered with banners and streamers of many colors and a buzz of greetings were exchanged between parents, students, and teachers throughout the room. The massive crowd of people in the fairly large room made it warm quickly, and in less than an hour, the doors and windows were pushed open so that everyone could breathe once again. Harry joined Ron and Ginny on their hunt of the Weasleys, as they pushed and 'pardon me'-ed through the large body, until Harry spotted Kaine looking miserable, up against a wall. It seemed that four sets of parents had cornered her and were questioning her deeply.

Molly instantly engulfed Harry into a bone-crushing hug as he reunited with Ginny and Ron; no sooner had he been released, then Fred and George tackled him and begun to use him as a resting stool.

"So, Harry, how are you?" Fred began as George proceeded to rest his head heavily on top of Harry's. "How has the school year been, old chum?"

"I heard that Defense Against the Dark Arts has been pretty..." George added in an airy voice. "How do you say... unique, this year."

"Yes, I do believe that's what Ron wrote," Fred laughed as Kaine walked past them.

"Is that... Kaine?" Arthur blinked as Kaine froze in her spot and glanced at him. "My word, Kaine, how are you?"

'If I don't move...' Kaine thought as she froze in a strange posture. 'He might not see me...damn!' "Arthur! How are you... today?"

"Good, good." Arthur answered, smiling at Kaine, not noticing her displeasure. Or was he just choosing not to? "How have the boys been?"

"Eh?" Kaine blinked as she glanced at the three children before her. "They have been... interesting to work with to say the least. Ron fairs well in his studies and so does Ginny. Harry..." she looked a little pained to talk to them about him. "Harry is doing well in my class. They are all good students."

"Make way!" an arrogant voice yelled as Harry watched heads being pushed aside.

Soon Lucius Malfoy stepped through the sea of people with Narcissa and Draco in tow. Lucius had a strong, over-bearing air about him that could annoy and royally piss off anyone within a three mile radius. He was dressed in a white suit with green linens and vest; Narcissa in a similar outfit, only difference being that it was a dress. Harry almost pitied Draco, due to the fact that he was dressed to match his parents, and looked rather unhappy about it.

"Well!" Lucius looked over Arthur and Molly who were dressed in their normal attire. "If it isn't the Weasleys. Dressed _fashionably_ as always I see..."

"Malfoy," Arthur only gave them the pleasure of his acknowledgment.

"Ah, if it isn't little Kainie," Lucius began, but Kaine didn't react to him.

Her eyes were looking over at Hermione, whose family had brought her cousin with them. They were causing a ruckus because Hermione's cousin had taken her wand and was trying to do magic with it. The child, a boy who was about eleven, began to throw a tantrum when the wand refused to do anything.

"WHY WON'T IT WORK!" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Donny!" Hermione cried as Donny flailed the wand about, hitting it against a nearby table which threatened to break it. "Donny stop! You'll break it!"

"It's a piece of HEY!" Donny yelped, as the wand ripped from his hands, and looked over to Kaine, who was highly annoyed.

"How bothersome," Kaine muttered as she stepped forward and gave Hermione her wand. "In my time, children were meant to be seen, never heard. Marcus would never have allowed such behavior in public. Granger, your wand."

"Thank you."

"Who are you?" Donny demanded, only to have Kaine flick her fingers sharply across his nose. "HEY!"

"Consider yourself fortunate of your time, child," Kaine warned sternly. "If you were in my time, your aunt and uncle would have taken you outside..."

"So?" the boy retorted before Kaine knelt down to his level.

"Outside, there are no witnesses," Kaine answered in a harsh voice. There was a long silence through the entire hall. "Besides, of course it would never work for you. You're a Muggle..."

"Your point being?" the boy huffed angrily. It was impossible for him and Hermione to be related.

"Magic is an enzyme in the blood stream," Kaine replied as if this were a known fact of life. "All beings have them, but it matters on how much rests inside the body. Too little, and a child is born bearing no magical abilities is born; a Muggle child..."

"Filthy Mudbloods..." Lucius sneered. "By keeping the blood pure, you ensure that more of the element is kept inside the children..."

"Wrong!" Kaine turned and glared at him. "The enzyme is fragile, easy to be over taken and easy to destroy. If a child is born through controlled breeding and too much enzyme resides within the child, the life that is made, becomes a hostile environment, and shuts down the enzyme by itself. As a result, a Squib is born. You must find the perfect center for ultimate power to be made."

"And where did you get that foolishness from Kaine?" Lucius retorted.

"Some strange girl on a bus, Nadine or something like that..." Kaine answered as she tried to remember. "Either way, the foolish child can't perform magic even if he wished for it."

"AH! Nandini! That was her name..." Kaine replied before looking at Lucius. "Anyways, Lucy, you wouldn't understand the theory. You failed that subject, if I remember correctly."

Harry sighed. It seemed like today was the official random-long-silence-moments-abuse day. Lucius exploded into a fiery column of rage.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!" He roared so loudly, that Kaine's hair almost waved in the sound wave.

"So loud..." Kaine muttered, as she wiggled her pinky in her ear as if to clean it. Then she smirked. "Heeee? Could it be that I hit a nerve there, Luuucccychan?"

"YOU COW!" Lucius barked at her, when Kaine turned and gave him an ugly face.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU INBREED?" shouted Kaine

"INBREED!" Lucius yelled, equally as loud. "LOOK WHO'S TALKING, CORPSE!"

"CORPSE!" Kaine shrieked. "OH THATS IT YOU...YOU... REDNECK OF THE WIZARDING WORLD!"

"REDNECK?" Lucius yelled, only to stop and blink. "What's a redneck? My neck is not red!"

"Never mind, Lucy," Kaine muttered. "You're too enclosed to understand the meaning..."

"DON'T CALL ME LUCY!" he roared.

"Lucius, don't go to her le..." Snape tried to intervene, but...

"STAY OUT OF IT, BECKIE!" Kaine and Lucius yelled at the same time.

"Lucy?" Harry muttered, as he glanced at Draco, who looked like he was about to bust a gut holding back his laughter. "Wait a minute..."

"_Ms. Kaine Nighttrod!" barked a voice that sent Kaine jumping a meter in the air, slamming her head into the overhead baggage shelf, and finally standing straight up stiffly._

"_I didn't do it! Lucy did it!" she cried, only to have the students roar with laughter. She then looked to see the old treat-cart witch scowling at her._

"So that's who she was talking about on the train..." Harry grinned. 'Interesting.'

"LUCY! LOLO! LULU! POPPY! LILLY!" Kaine yelled back, in what was now long past childish actions. "JESSIE! ZOEY! MOLLY! NARCISSA! ALICE!"

"SHUT UP, YOU REJECT OF A VAMPIRE!" Lucius yelled, as loud as he could.

The world became completely frozen. No one moved. No one spoke. Students gaped, as Kaine stood wide-eyed in front of Lucius, shocked and unable to say anything. Parents gasped in horror, looking at Kaine as if she were about to attack someone, like a rabid dog.

"Hey? Lucy..." Kaine stood a little more upright, her hair covering her eyes for view, never the less it reminded everyone of the silence before the storm.

"Errr..." Lucius wasn't sure what to say or do, until a fist hit him square in the jaw. Then, he knew to fall over.

"You're a real bastard, you know that?" Kaine replied, as she turned and walked away. Dumbledore made a move to stop her, but the murderous air about her flared. "PISS OFF!"

"It safe now, she's gone Lucius," Snape stated as he looked over to Lucius, who was slowly rising from the floor. "Well, you were lucky..."

"Lucky?" Narcissa shrieked. "How was he lucky?"

"She could have killed him," Snape stated in a matter of fact tone. "In fact, first time he did this, he only lived because Mad-Eye and Razziel jumped her and held her down. You had to go into hiding for a week after that, right?"

"Severus," Lucius growled, as he nursed what he was sure to be a broken jaw. "Do us a favor and shut up."

AN: Special thanks to my beta for the magical theory. Thanks to her it made more sense than what I had the first time. Also, sorry for the long wait but I'm was moving from USA to the DK on the 19th and it was hell. HELL, I TELL YOU, HELL! That and my email broke down. Nuts... Anyway, if you want to see pictures of the different characters, like Kuro, the werewolf Razziel, and some of Kaine herself, go to my deviantart account. It's my link page on my bio. Thank you!

Also, Sorry Nan for the long wait and the freakishly long chapter. Also, despite I'm going to started colleage on the 14th, I'm still going to try and update the story and finish it before I start on any other storys. Promise. The song by the way belongs to Anna Nalick and is called Breathe (2AM) pretty song.

B/N: Eh, no problem. I must say, I was surprised you actually included what I told you…. Thanks! The chapter isn't so long, and it was fun to read. Don't worry about it. Just be glad that this is summer vacation… J (Sorry, some of the wait was my fault- college finals. Yuck!)


	13. Chapter 13: Mikeal

AN: I don't know enough Japanese, so any text like this: **_text_**—is Japanese. Also, there is a bit of history in this.

Chapter Thirteen 

Mikeal

The murderous air about Kaine, as she stormed down the hallway, made everyone flee for his or her safety. Even the paintings seemed to find a need to visit paintings on other side of the castle. It wasn't until she reached the comforts of her chamber, that Kaine cooled her mood, due to a set of blood red eyes looking nervously at her from under the bed covers.

"**_Mama? What's wrong?_**" a tiny voice asked, as a small child popped out.

He had long messy hair from sleeping, but his bangs reached well past his face. He stood a little less than three feet and appeared to be only about four years of age, dressed in a pair of black shorts and sleeveless turtle neck. He gently, but nervously, played with his fingers as he looked at her.

"**_Nothing. Nothing's wrong_**," Kaine replied as she sat down. "**_Go back to sleep sweetie_**."

'Tomorrow is going to be hell...' Kaine thought before sighing. 'God, the death threats are going to start again...'

The next day, as the Gryffindors and Slytherins entered the Defense Against Dark Arts, there was a heavy eeriness around them. Snape had even joined them for the day, to ensure that Kaine wouldn't get any problems. Even so, as Kaine entered the room and started her lesson, the nervousness hung so heavily in the air, it was slowly choking everyone. Harry sat silently as Kaine read from her book, about what were the possible signs of a purebred werewolf. He wanted to say something, anything.

"THAT'S IT!" Kaine yelled suddenly, making the whole class jump as she slammed the chalk into the dust-catcher of the blackboard and shut her book. "This has to be the most silent class I've ever had in my life, as student and teacher..."

She glanced around the room before sighing. "Look, I know everyone is wondering about what happened yesterday when Mr. Malfoy yelled something that was uncalled for. I just want you all to know, so that we can move on with our lives..."

'She's going to clear it up,' Harry sighed in relief. 'She's going to say he said it for effect and everything will return...'

"It's true," Kaine dropped the bomb on the class as if it was an everyday thing. "Now, I want it clear to everyone that even if I am a vampire, I do not, and will not, go around biting people. It just isn't done."

"Professor?" Seamus asked timidly and Kaine nodded towards him. "Do you... you know... drink human..."

"What? Human blood? Oh God no!" Kaine began laughing at his question. "My dear boy, I wouldn't be here if I did drink human blood; it's a health hazard."

"For us?" Pansy asked quickly, only to hear Kaine scoff at the question.

"Good God, no," Kaine made a disgusted look. "For me!"

"YOU!" Pansy glared at her. "Why is it for you?"

"Do you know what's floating about in your blood?" Kaine looked at them all. "I can't. For all I could know, some of you are on some sort of medication. Besides, it's been illegal in the vampires' court to drink directly from humans since the Hippies movement in 1970."

The class fell silent because Kaine put her book down and picked up the chalk.

"Listen, how about we study vampires for the next week or so? Would that ease everyone's worries?"

She got a nod from all of them. "Right, don't use your books for this. The damn thing only tells you about the Nosferatu breed—there are more vampire breeds than that—and they still do a shitty job on them."

Kaine suddenly pulled out a projector and magicked a white sheet in front of the classroom.

"The vampire (a picture of Bram Stoker's Dracula appeared before them) are dated back to the late 17th century, early 18th, however the records in the Alexandrian Library showed that we date back to as early as before the birth of the Roman Empire..."

"You've been to the Alexandrian library?" Hermione asked, only to see Kaine sigh in annoyance.

"No, Ms. Granger," Kaine replied. "The Royal Alexandrian Library was built in the 3rd century BC, and most likely burned then too. I'm old, but not that old."

"Then how do you know?" Ron asked.

"Our kind are historians, Mr. Weasley," Kaine replied softly. "We are the keepers of history and we believe in that all our young must know who and what they are. Now if I may...?"

"Sorry," an echo of voices replied.

"Now the lore about vampires has changed over the many years but according to popular belief, we do not have reflections; have a hatred towards the church and related objects; burn in sunlight; can be hurt by silver and stakes; sleep in coffins; are highly alluring; and are obsessed with blood. We are described as being pale, tired during the day, awake at night, and have, all in all, strange behavior.

"However these signs are not to be mistaken for movie vampires (a picture of the vampire, Lastat, from Queen of the Damned appeared quickly before them); rave-rs (a picture of some poor confused guy, looking very high on something, replaced the last one); teens (an old picture of past Gryffindors sleeping on the floor in a large dog pile appeared)…

"Dad?" Ron asked as the picture was posted.

"…Insomniacs or anemics (a picture of some overly caffeine boy appeared; the kid had an expression of utter 'What the hell?'); and of course, Professor Snape."

The last picture wasn't even a photo. It was the crayon reject of Snape, wielding crazy-shaped arms, about a cauldron with a green potion in it. He had a crude sketch of a scowl on his face and the words, "I AM SNAPE, THE POTIONS MASTER," written about him. They would have laughed if Snape didn't happen to be there.

"I beg your pardon," he growled, only to see Kaine remain calm, as if he had just appeared.

"What?" Kaine asked. "Look Susan, I'm teaching a lesson, I can handle myself. Go on, shoo!"

Snape growled at her but left. He knew her well enough to see she had control of the situation, unlike some good eighteen years ago.

"Now, there are 14 breeds of vampires and 13 clans. The clans are named after their breeds and they carry it in their name, and although they each control their own, we are all ruled by a government called the Order of the Seven Dragons, originally created by the Tepees family. This 'order' as it is called, is simple, but powerful. Unlike in the Wizarding world, and some parts of the Muggle, the vampires' system is ruled by tyranny and monarchy."

Kaine paused and looked at them all, as her face became deadly serious.

"We have few rules," she stated. "It is illegal to sire another vampire by bite without a permit from both the Wizarding and Vampires' systems, as it is illegal to drink human blood of any kind; medical, donated, force, or by will."

"What if someone breaks those rules?" Ron asked, as he watched Kaine.

"The punishment is death, by the Maiden," Kaine replied.

"The Maiden?" Hermione asked.

"It's a medieval torture device known as the Iron Maiden, only ours is made of silver," Kaine explained. "All vampires can heal at amazing rates, however silver prohibits the ability. If the wound is not cleansed of silver, it will not heal. In short, criminals are sentenced to 'bleed' to death."

"That's horrible!" Pansy yelled. "That so... so..."

"Inhuman?" Kaine asked. "Understand that these rules are laws written in blood. They have been written and upheld for centuries in order to ensure that we do not over-breed or endanger our kinds ability to survive. Your _Ministry of Magic_ has never had a problem with these laws..."

The room fell silent once more.

"Now, the first breed we shall start with, are the Lairicals. The Lairicals are a very... alluring race; they are beautiful and sexually attractive. All the more reason that they are dangerous, as long as they keep their mouths shut-"

"Why?" Ron asked, it was clear he was curious.

"Let's just say that their voice leaves much to be desired," Kaine grinned a bit cruelly. "I'm not overly fond of them because they make it very hard to talk to others when you need to.

"The next breed, well there isn't much to tell about most of them, is the classic Nosferatu. They are just as Bram Stocker described them: very hideous creatures that are foul in mood and language. They have a love for causing problems and then blaming others.

"Following, we have the Maara. The Maara clan is made of only women and has ruled for a good five centuries in the country of Denmark. They are mostly mist vampires and about the only ones who try continuously to get permits for siring. They are very charming in nature, but because they appear mostly as mist, they have no reflection."

Harry blinked. It seemed as if all the vampire tales were a mixture of all the different breeds.

"The Lunaris are the only vampires who can not stand sunlight. They burn in it. Lucathrals are pretty much, wild gangs of vampires with extremely violent tempers, often ripping people apart for fun. The Soloras clan are day-born vampires who are allergic to garlic. If they come too close it, they pass out. The Betrothals are the weakest vampires, being albino and isolated. They are, in short, a dying breed."

"I can't believe there are so many," Hermione whispered to Ron and Harry. "Do you think we'll meet other vampires like Kaine?"

"I hope not," Ron replied back as he jotted down quick notes. "One Nighttrod is enough, don't you think."

"He has a point Granger," Draco whispered, just low enough so only they heard him. Sadly, they had to agree.

"The Mortalis are our most morbid vampires and are often mistaken for suicidal people; where as their cousins, the Losmortas, believe they are the living dead. Then, we have a Japanese clan called Tonoma, who fear moving water; the Furelts, disowned by my own clan, a hateful group who hate religion. My closest cousins are the Alarufson clan. They are the second highest breed of vampire, as they can create illusions similar to magic."

"Which clan are you Professor?" Neville asked kindly.

"I am the first daughter of the Nosufurala clan. We are the most powerful vampire breed because of our political understanding and this," Kaine smiled as she made a flame appear in her hand. "Unlike the Alarufson, we can do magic, real magic. WE are also the oldest clan, according to records."

"What about the fourteenth clan?" Ron asked. Kaine blinked as she looked at him. "You said everyone is named after their breed, but you said there are thirteen clans. What about the last one?"

"The last breed isn't really a breed, Mr. Weasley," Kaine explained. "They are wild, insane, power-hunger rouges. Victims who have been bitten, turned, and then abandoned like an unwanted pet. They are the most dangerous vampires to humans."

"What are they called Professor?" Neville asked.

Kaine sighed and looked at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco.

"We call them Furies," she sighed.

clap clap clap clap clap

A sudden, slow, and soft clapping came from the back of the room, calling everyone's attention. In the doorway stood a tall man, almost 6 feet in height. He had a kind, soft, almost angelic face with bright sapphire eyes and rich brown hair that was just long enough for him to pull back into a very small, bushy ponytail. He was dressed in a dark blue, almost black, suit with a white shirt and black dress shoes. He almost looked like a poster boy for the classic businessman

"Well done Kaine," he replied in a proud, calm, and lulling voice. Almost as if he was praising a child for a task done right. "Quick and simple. Much better then that old fossil Willics could..."

"What the hell do you think you are doing here!" Kaine hissed.

Harry turned to see that she seemed overly nervous that he was here. Her whole being became hostile, as if she thought he would jump her. A scream from one of the girls made Harry look, to see that the man was suddenly next to Kaine, and held her hand firmly in his, in a scolding manner.

"Kaine!" he seemed surprised by her behavior. "Where are your manners? Have you truly been around the mortals for too long?"

"Let go Mikeal," Kaine hissed as she yanked her hand out of his. "What the hell do you want?"

"Father would have you over his knee with a brush for that kind of behavior…" Mikeal wagged a 'tsk-tsk' finger in her face.

"I'm too old for that ..." Kaine stated firmly, but failed to force the blush from covering her face.

"Not to him Kaine, you're not," Mikeal stated with a sad face. "You will always be his 'little girl,' no matter how old you are."

"What is it you want Mikeal?" Kaine demanded once more. "There's something you wan..."

"It's father, Kaine," Mikeal interrupted her as she stopped to hear what he had to say. "He's dying."

Harry had never seen Kaine's face turn so pale or fill with so much horror as it did then. She was in shock.

"What?"

AN: Ohhhh! Marcus? I wonder who that it? I'd like to apologies for the long wait and to say I'm sorry but it's gonna be a long time before I start on the next chapter. Colleague is really hard and really stressful as of the moment. Don't believe me, try reading a colleague book in a language which you never learned to read and spell, because that's how all of my books are except English and English is boring because it's all the grade school stuff. And now a clip from the next chapter...

_Harry had never been more attracted to any woman before. She was a goddess that had fallen from the heavens, an angel who had blessed him the chance to see her._

_A hand suddenly fell on his shoulder as a voice asked the beauty before him "How's the sprained wrist Paula?"_

_Paula, what a beautifully simple name. Harry tried to move closer by the hand held him back. Paula smile and opened her mouth slowly. He could just imagine her sweet angelic..._

"_It's doing great doc, thanks." Answered a deep barley voice that would have fit a 450 lb drunk man then the woman before him._

"_Good ta hear," A woman's voice replied as she pulled Harry away. "Take care now. You, with me, now!"_

_They walked out into the hallway before Harry came face with a woman a bit taller then himself. She was a doc from the looks of things, dressed in a lab coat with several pens in the pocket. She was dressed, however, like she was heading for or going to a music concert, wearing a leather tank top that had a collar that reach about midway up her throat. She had on a set of thigh high combat lace up boots with what looked like steel covering over the toes. A pair of tattered short, which Harry believed had once been jeans, a dark brown wrist cuff, and a necklace with two dragons wrapped around a sword finished the outfit._

_She stepped a little closer, making Harry look up to see that her brown hair was set up in a ponytail with a hair clip to add high, and a set of angry blue eyes glaring at him from behind a set of rimless oval glasses._

"_Can I help you young man?" She asked, sounding highly annoyed that he was there to begin with._

"_I'm looking for someone..." Harry started._

"_Yes, I kind of guessed that," She sighed. "Listen. Kid..."_

_'Kid!' Harry thought as he looked at her. She couldn't be more then nineteen at the most. Looking at her Id card pinned over her left breast, he read 'Dr. Alexis Parker'._

"_...I don't know who brought you in here, but you can't be here." Dr Parker continued, ignoring Harry's glares. "This wing is off limits to humans. Now I can go onto the intercom and call whoever your..."_

"_My teacher brought me here," Harry cut in as she turned at picked up a phone that was hung on the wall. "Her name's Kaine Nighttrod..."_

"_Kaine-" Parker turned as looked hard at Harry. "Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod? The Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod?"_

"_Yes..." Harry replied in bewilderment as Alexis began to laugh._

_It started as a small laugh which turned tyrannical and insane soundly as she moved into a pose fitting a mad scientist. Then once she stopped laughing she threw her arm around Harry's shoulders and gave his a frightfully sickening sweet smile._

"_And do you know whom she's here to see?" Alexis asked as if they were the best of friends._

"_Some guy called Marcus..." Harry replied nervously. 'Why do I feel that I sold Kaine to the devil or something even worse?'_

_Meanwhile on the other side of the hospital, by a vending machine, a certain woman shuddered and looked about._

"_I sense a disturbance in the force."_


	14. Chapter 14: The Secret Wing of St Mungo

(AN: I am a vampire fan if you all haven't guessed that yet so there's a bit of a history lesson on Vladimir Tepes in this chap. Also, remember to Mikeal is old fashioned so when he says a 'swear' word My opinion, if it was written in the bible, it's not a swear word, doesn't matter context he means it in the literal sense.)

Chapter Fourteen

The Secret Wing of St. Mungo

Kaine remained frozen in her spot as she looked disbelieving at Mikeal. It was as if someone had told her that the Holocaust had been a lie and Hitler never started the 2nd World War. Mikeal seemed unable to looked her in the eyes as faced the window, looking past the world before him. Everyone remained silent, unable to say anything in fear of shattering the scene before them.

"Dying?" Kaine gapped as she stepped closer to Mikeal. "What do you mean by dying?"

"He's gotten Abyssus cruor." Mikeal seemed pained as Kaine looked mortified and fell back into her desk chair.

"Abyssus cruor?" Kaine gapped as she seemed speechless on what do say. "How... when... what..." She suddenly gathered her thoughts and looked at Mikeal hard. "Where is he?"

"Where anyone in his place would be..." Mikeal answered as he watched her brain decided on a course of action. "Kaine, he really wants to..."

"Class is dismissed for indefinite," Kaine yelled as she quickly ran towards the door. "Ten minutes Mikeal! Ten minutes!"

"Good girl," Mikeal whispered as he sat down and then looked at the four remaining students. The others had left because they were nervous around the vampiric stranger. "Hello there, I know you lot."

They all blinked as he walked up to them and held out his hand to each of them.

"Pale blond hair and skin, you must be Mr. Draco Malfoy," He gave him a firm but friendly handshake. "Fire red hair and freckled face, that's Mr. Ronald Weasley. You have a little sister under the same description do you not. I believe her name is Virgina Weasley, goes by the name of Ginny as you go by Ron," When he got to Hermione, he gently took her hand and gave is a small kiss. "Brown hair, soft face, and wise eyes, you must be the lovely Ms. Hermione Granger, I've heard a many good things about you."

Finally he stood before Harry with a kind but knowing smile. "And finally, a man who is in need of no introduction. Mr. Harry James Potter. Quiet the tittle with your name. I much say though you appear thin then I imagine you to be..."

"Wait!" Ron was the first to hope out his shock. "How do you know our names?"

"I'm very familiar with Prince Razziel," Mikeal smiled as he sat down on Kaine's desk. "My word of advice to you youths would be not to tell him too many personal secrets. Prince Razziel doesn't hold alcohol well and tends to spill information if you scratch his ear."

They then fell back into silence, unsure as to what they should say as they were waiting for Kaine to come back. In the end it was Hermione that took it to her advantage.

"So you're related to Professor Nighttrod?" She asked carefully. "Where did you get the last name Nighttrod from?"

"Only Kaine has Nighttrod for a last name," Mikeal stated. "Back in the 300 AD, she would travel under the cloak of darkness. I'm surprised she wasn't attacked by the small villages. Back then the peasants where highly jumpy. It's really a description of a traveler who travels at night. She must have stuck with it."

"What's your's then?" Draco asked. Like Hermione, he too was curious about Mikeal and the Nosfurala line.

"Doneaz."Mikeal smiled sweetly. "The family name has been Dorneaz for the last six centuries."

"Question!" Draco was the one who dared to venture forward with his own now. "What else is the Nosfurala clan known for?"

"We are quiet charming to talk to." Mikeal grinned at him. "Would you like me to show you?"

"Is it sexually 'charming'?" Draco asked looking suspicious at Mikeal. "Because if you make me look gay I swear..."

"I assure you, I wouldn't doing anything that would make you uncomfortable." Mikeal smiled as he looked at Draco. "Tell me, children, do you know the history of Vladimir III Tepes?" They shook their heads.

"Well then allow me to enlighten you. You see..." Mikeal turned towards Harry and Draco. "Vlad the Impaler, also known as _Vlad Dracula_ or _Vlad Dr__ăculea_, was voivode, in English it means 'prince' of Wallachia. Wallachia is currently part of Romania. His three reigns were in 1448, in 1456-1462, and in 1476."

Harry watched Mikeal closely as the man spoke with passion about the muse of Bram Stroker's Dracula. He resisted his information to them in a soothing and calm voice that who have made him perfect in teaching history to even to lest inspired students.

"As 'prince' he led an independent policy in relation to the Ottoman Empire, and in Romania he is best remembered as a prince with a deep sense of justice and a defender of Wallachia against Ottoman expansionism. His impact on the expansion of the Ottoman Empire is recognizable in that his successful hold against them bought precious time for western Europe. He wasn't automatically given the tittle of voivode because unlike the monarchy of England, Denmark, France, Spain, just to name a few, Wallachia elected it's prince instead of just having the crown being passed down from father to eldest son." Mikeal looked sternly at the students. "This allowed bastard children the ability to have the control the country. Vladimir was the third child of his father's line, at lest it is what we are lead to believe. His oldest brother was Mircea. Mircea battled along side their father during the crusade against the Turks, however they were over powered by them with the help of the Varna. He was then taken captive for some unknown years before he was was blinded with a red-hot poker, then buried alive along side with his father..."

"that's horrible!" Hermione stated in a shocked voice. "How could they do that?"

"that was how it was done back then." Mikeal answered. His eyes never left Harry and Draco's. "Vlad wasn't any better. In fact he frightened not only the Turks, but his own people as well. Tell me Draco do you know why he was call 'Vlad the Impaler'?"

"No...sir." Draco replied. His mind felt slightly clouded, like his was beginning to fall asleep.

"He was called 'the Impaler' because he would impale human beings on wooden spikes threw out his kingdom as a symbol of his blood lust and power." Mikeal smiled at the mention of blood. "The Turks were mortified that a ruler could punish not only his enemies but his own people by such cruel methods."

"Blimey." Ron looked pale at Mikeal. "You mean he hung dead bodies around o n spikes to scare people?"

"Who said that they were dead when they were impaled?" Mikeal's eyes flashed red as he flashed the boy and feral grin. "No, Vlad would cast his own people upon the spikes alive as public exhaustions. He was however killed by his younger half brother Radu the Handsome. The lore of the Nosferatu came to live because it was believed that because Vlad had murdered so many and was not a Christian of any kind, his soul was forsaken by both heaven and hell and he was left to wonder the earth drinking the blood of the living."

"Was it true?" Harry asked breathless. The lesson was mind numbing and frighting, yet he want to know more. "Did he rise?"

Mikeal smiled. "No. On the night of his death a priest went to check his grave and found the body missing. Word spread that Vlad had risen and murdered the holy man for revenge. The true is it was his eldest son who resembled him as if he were his mirror image. It was another who took the priest life..."

"who?" They all asked. Mikeal grinned even more.

"It was..."

"If you're done molesting my student Mikeal, I would like to get going." Kaine interrupted. She stood in the doorway. She looked highly annoyed at her brother. "I'd like to get this over with without running into her."

"But of course," Mikeal grinned amused as he took his hands off both Harry and Draco's chins. It was then that the two realized that he had been slowly exposing their necks while talking to them. "That's how the Nosfurala clan charms it's prey."

"If we MAY!" Kaine barked. Her temper seemed high again for unknown reasons. She grabbed a bag of Floo Powder and tossed it into a nearby fireplace. "Purgatory!"

"Psst!" Harry whispered to Mikeal as Kaine disappeared. "Who did kill the priest?"

"The one whom killed the priest is very close to you." Mikeal answered as he stepped through. When Harry appeared on the other side He found himself trip into Mikeal's arms. "This trip is always hard on humans. Welcome to Purgatory, the secret wing of St Mango's Hospital."

The wing was busier then an angry bee hive. Noise echoed and bounced off the steril cold white washed walls and the constant clicking and flapping of high heels and thick soled shoes walking and running about the hallways. In the distance Harry could hear some children crying for their mothers or playing a small game of 'chase-me' and despite the strong aroma of bleach that filled the air, Harry could still find the scent of water dog coming from one of the rooms.

They all guessed that Kaine had had her share of visits to the wing. She stood with her back to her, shoulders tense and head scanning up and down the corridors. She seemed jumpy as she walked over the reception counter and gestured to the others to follow.

The receptionist was a small frump of a woman with a slight resemblance of a frog. She had large brown eyes behind horn shaped glasses, along with an unusually large mouth with puffy lips. She glared at Kaine for disturbing her important time of nail filing.

"Can I help you, Miss?" A nasel like voice demanded as Kaine snatch up the roster. "Miss? Miss, you can't just take..." Kaine snapped her head at the woman and snarled, fangs bared. "Or... maybe you can."

"Kaine!" Mikeal scolded behind her.

"The sooner we find him without HER finding out, the better." Kaine muttered.

"Don't tell me you haven't..." Mikeal started when he saw Kaine glare at him. Then he laughed. "Oh dear, my sweet little baby sister. SHE'LL find out that you're here whether you wish it or not."

"Room 563, Marcus Dornez." Kaine quickly barked, her cheeks a little red. "Everyone stay close. We don't want any MIAs."

"MIAs?" Draco asked as he looked at the others.

"Missing in action, Malfoy," Hermione stated to him. "It's a military muggle term. Some words are adopted into other cultures."

"Like what?" Ron asked When Mikeal stepped in.

"I hate to be the one to stop your conversation, but if you all don't pay attention we'll lose Kaine." He pointed at Kaine who was a good 20 feet in front of them. "Kaine! Wait! Not everyone here knows what to fear!"

'What is he...' Harry thought when a young woman's wave caught his eyes. Stopping, Harry stared at the goddess before him. "Wow."

She was about twenty five years old and dark skinned. Long curly hair framed her heart shaped face as dark chocolate eyes looked lustfully at him, and her legs. Oh, her never ending long firm legs that hugged the hot red leather mini dress she was wearing.

Harry had never been more attracted to any woman before. She was a goddess that had fallen from the heavens, an angel who had blessed him the chance to see her.

A hand suddenly fell on his shoulder as a voice asked the beauty before him "How's the sprained wrist Paula?"

Paula, what a beautifully simple name. Harry tried to move closer by the hand held him back. Paula smile and opened her mouth slowly. He could just imagine her sweet angelic...

"It's doing great doc, thanks." Answered a deep barley voice that would have fit a 450 lb drunk man then the woman before him.

"Good ta hear," A woman's voice replied as she pulled Harry away. "Take care now. You, with me, now!"

They walked out into the hallway before Harry came face with a woman a bit taller then himself. She was a doc from the looks of things, dressed in a lab coat with several pens in the pocket. She was dressed, however, like she was heading for or going to a music concert, wearing a leather tank top that had a collar that reach about midway up her throat. She had on a set of thigh high combat lace up boots with what looked like steel covering over the toes. A pair of tattered short, which Harry believed had once been jeans, a dark brown wrist cuff, and a necklace with two dragons wrapped around a sword finished the outfit.

She stepped a little closer, making Harry look up to see that her brown hair was set up in a ponytail with a hair clip to add high, and a set of angry blue eyes glaring at him from behind a set of rimless oval glasses.

"Can I help you young man?" She asked, sounding highly annoyed that he was there to begin with.

"I'm looking for someone..." Harry started.

"Yes, I kind of guessed that," She sighed. "Listen. Kid..."

'Kid?!' Harry thought as he looked at her. She couldn't be more then nineteen at the most. Looking at her Id card pinned over her left breast, he read 'Dr. Alexis Parker'.

"...I don't know who brought you in here, but you can't be here." Dr Parker continued, ignoring Harry's glares. "This wing is off limits to humans. Now I can go onto the intercom and call whoever your..."

"My teacher brought me here," Harry cut in as she turned at picked up a phone that was hung on the wall. "Her name's Kaine Nighttrod..."

"Kaine-" Parker turned as looked hard at Harry. "Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod? The Kaine Nosfurala Nighttrod?"

"Yes..." Harry replied in bewilderment as Alexis began to laugh.

It started as a small laugh which turned tyrannical and insane soundly as she moved into a pose fitting a mad scientist. Then once she stopped laughing she threw her arm around Harry's shoulders and gave his a frightfully sickening sweet smile.

"And do you know whom she's here to see?" Alexis asked as if they were the best of friends.

"Some guy called Marcus..." Harry replied nervously. 'Why do I feel that I sold Kaine to the devil or something even worse?'

Meanwhile on the other side of the hospital, by a vending machine, a certain woman shuddered and looked about.

"I sense a disturbance in the force."

"Did you say something professor?" Ron asked as he noticed Kaine's discomfort.

"Professor! I found it!" Draco yelled down the hallway. Kaine quickly ran past him.

"Marcus!" She spoke but stopped short of the doorway. "oh god."

Despite the small forest of flowers that where placed about the room, the air and bleach white walls seems to steal away any heat. On a cold metal bar bed lay an old man with graying chestnut hair. Wires and tubes lay about him in a maze of their own as Kaine hurried next to the bed and touched a wrinkled hand.

"Hello..." Kaine whispered as he kissed his cheek. "...my father."


End file.
